I am visiting Frankfurt the first two weeks of September and I have a Saturday and Sunday completely free. I will be by myself and I want to just drive both days (possibly in a loop) with a stay Saturday night wherever. For example, thinking maybe heading south towards Lucerne or Zurich and staying the night there, and coming home through Stuttgart or the Romantic Road. I am open to other directions or cities as well. What I am looking for is the best route to see the best Germany has to offer: amazing landscapes, picturesque town, gorgeous castles and cathedrals, must-see beer halls or gardens, and anything else! Any tips on cities or town to see or roads to take would be much appreciated. Also, is there is a perfect place to stay that one night that would be an added benefit!
I don't think I'd go as far as Zurich or Luzern for a weekend motoring trip. For one thing, you would need to buy a vignette for Switzerland at the border. Lodging prices in Switzerland will be double Germany's. To cover the ground you are thinking of covering, you would have to be on the Autobahn most of the time, which kind of defeats the idea of seeing idyllic small towns in Germany.
Make tighter circle for a weekend road trip. Maybe to the Black Forest and back.
If you were talking weekend of Sept 5-6, I'd just go to Bernkastel-Kues in the Mosel Valley. There is a wine festival that weekend and it is bound to be a fun relaxing time. You can drive along the Rhine, see a castle or two.
Thank you all so much for your input. I definitely felt going all the way down to Zurich would be a bit too much for two days. If I stayed closer to Frankfurt, which of these two are best:
1) Southern drive down the Rhein to Strasbourg
2) Northwestern drive up the Rhein through Bingen and Bonn
No 2. It is actually down the Rhine to the northwest. That portion includes the Rhine Gorge and all the castles. To the south is up the Rhine and it is rather flat, although Strasbourg is worth a day.