Will this itinerary work Southwest Germany-Rhine Valley-Amsterdam and back.

I love bopping around but those distances are way too far to enjoy yourself. Visiting both Neuschwanstein castle and Amsterdam and I don't know what Day 4 means ... and you want to visit tulip garden in AM in the Netherlands and then fly out of Frankfurt that night? Can you fly into Frankfurt and out of Amsterdam or are your tickets booked? An option is to look at the castles closer to Stuggert? Maybe? Personally I don't understand the allure of Rothenburg ob der Tauber - so personally I wouldn't waste my time getting there. Also you will land with luggage and have to drag it to Rothenberg - I think you have to transfer trains a few times (?) and then to Fussen. I see that trip has 4 transfers. Decide what you MUST do/see and look at alternative cities / towns. We loved Bamberg and I'd like to see Heidelberg. Research a closer castle than going to Fussen!

You're running in circles. You'd do best to fly into Amsterdam and out of Munich (open jaw'd.) Travel in straight lines is always more efficient. Remember that your arrival day is shot getting used to the time change, getting to your hotel and resting a little. Your last day is also spent getting from your hotel to the airport. That simply doesn't leave you enough time to go to so many places. And if you can stay a couple of days longer, your trip will be much more enjoyable.
You need to go back to the drawing board on your itinerary.

I am sorry but it doesn't work from day one. You seem to have forgotten about the necessities of life - food, sleep, bathroom, etc. But, I guess, all of that could be done on the long train rides. One big suggestion would be an open jaw ticket into Frankfurt and home from Amsterdam. Have you check flight schedules? Not sure if there is an evening flight from Frankfurt.

7 days IS doable - but not that itinerary. Day one doesn't have to be "shot" .. here is our itinerary from last year - in to Dusseldorf and out of Munich (tickets thru FF miles so Dusseldorf was just a means to an end). Also - we have no checked luggage. Landed in Dusseldorf at 6:30 AM and got train into city - got on 7:20 train to Wurzburg (2 hours 40 mins). Wandered, saw the castle, nice lunch, short nap, wandered, beers, dinner, beers ... nice day. Next day we got up early and traveled to Bamberg (1 hour) - great day. Saw whole town - loved Bamberg. Next day - got up early and traveled to Nurnberg where we spent two days - train was a bit over an hour. Lots to see - Documentation Center, castle, WWII sights. Then to Salzburg for two days - long train (3 hrs?) with switch in Munich (second day we went to Eagle's Nest at Berchesgaten). Next day we went to Munich, spent the night and flew out next day. So - one night Wurzburg, Bamberg and Munich and two nights Nurnberg and Salzburg. Never felt rushed.

Liz, My comments concern days 5,6, and 7. That part is doable, IF your flight to Dallas leaves late at night. Take the last last from Cologne or transfering in Duisburg that gets you to Amsterdam by 2100 at the latest. Have a hotel/B&B/Pension reserved near Amsterdam Centraal. Day 6 ...visit Amsterdam all day. Day 7...check out from hotel. Put luggage in a coin locker at Centraal. Go visit the Keubenhof Gardens. The last train direct train Amsterdam-Frankfurt dep is 1634, arr at Frankfurt Hbf 2030. If you have to rely on this 1634 dep, then return to Centraal ca. one hour prior ( I don't like cutting it close), assuming you have your ticket, etc.

Not very doable, even with a very efficient schedule. The big bugaboo I see is this: You're spending 13-14 hours on the train in your first 2 days, and allocating 6-7 train hours and altogether a full day of your trip just to take a 30-minute tour of Neuschwanstein. This would help... Day1: FRA airport to Rothenburg (it's 3 hours) for afternoon, evening. Day2: Rothenburg in a.m. / train to Bacharach (4.25 hrs) with a layover in Würzburg (where you must change trains anyway) to see the Residenz palace (stow bags in station locker.) Day 3: Start a morning river cruise in Bingen, get off in Braubach to tour MARKSBURG CASTLE. Train back to west bank for Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar and Bacharach (10 min. south of St. Goar.) After that: Mostly OK, but I don't think one day in A'dam is sufficient for most people and would add a day if possible.

If you are not planning any time in Munich, then I would not spend time that far south in the Neuschwanstein castle. And if you have not purchased tickets, I would also consider flying open jaw.....Maybe into Munich (so you can see the castle) and out of Amsterdam. I am team Rothenburg so I feel a night is warranted.
I have traveled to Europe 8 years in a row. I have hit that era where moving around too much makes me not want to even leave the states. It is a pain. So I am gonna chime in and say the itenerary is a bit too loaded. Too many one night stays and a lot of train travel.

People have mentioned planning for your arrival and departure day - which can't be used for much touring/sight-seeing. I also think open jaw is a great idea. I try to create an itinerary that involves an absolute minimum of backtracking; in my mind that wastes valuable time - especially during a short vacation. It's also important to consider your travel days while you're in Europe. A travel day starts with getting cleaned up and packed, checking out, finding something to eat, getting to the train station, finding your train, making a connection (if you have one), getting off at the right stop, getting to your lodging, getting settled, getting something to eat, etc. Because of that I consider 4 hrs of actual travel to be plenty for any travel day. Four hours results in a full day, anything longer is likely to seem grueling.

Liz, The first thing I do to plan my itinerary is use the Detusch Bahn site (www.bahn.de)to figure out my travel days. (I compare the departure and arrival times as well as the number of changes and the duration of the train day.) If we're renting a car, I use viamichelin.com to figure out how long the days are, adding on a couple of hours to make it more realistic. I also don't even count our arrival day because all we do is try to reset our time zones that first day. We also fly openjaw (aka multi-city) so that we don't waste a day traveling back to our arrival city.
Hope this helps.