Bavaria and Austria itinerary help please

Not exactly Bavaria, but I think Lindau and the Lake Konstanz area is well-worth visiting.

Stan is right - Lake Constance is very nice and a good place for biking which your teens might enjoy. It also might be slightly less crowded in July than places like Salzburg and Rothenburg which I love, but wouldn't go to in July due to the crowds. If you start in Frankfurt you might also consider spending some time on the Rhine before heading to Munich.

I lived in Aschaffenburg and Wurzburg and here is a suggestion since you will be driving. Fly into Frankfurt and take the train to Aschaffenburg. In Aschaffenburg there is a lovely castle named Johannesburg (sp?). There is also Pompeiigean (sp?) which is a replica a villa in Pompeii. Then rent a car. If you drive the old road (not the autobahn) to between Aschaffenburg and Wurzburg, just south of Haibach which is just south of Aschaffenburg is the village of Messpelbrun. It has a fairy tale moated castle that has been in the same family for 5-600 years. In Wurzburg visit the Prince Bishop's Residence. Be sure to see the Hofkirche on one end of the Residenze. Easy to miss if you are not looking for it. The Marienberg Fortress is ok but if time is tight skip it. The view of it from the town is more impressive that the view of the town from the fortress. From Wurzburg it is a short drive to Rothenburg. From there you can drive to Nuremberg and then on to Munich. To avoid backtracking consider flying back from Munich.

We enjoyed visiting the Documentation Center and rally grounds in Nuremberg. We did not stay there but spent most of the day there as we drove from Rothenberg to Bayreuth (on our way to Dresden).

Thank you all very much. I'm new to the site and have also read many of the posts from recent days...balancing the real Germany with Disneyland sites, so to speak. So I very much appreciate your input. Looking at the map and talking with my family about options you suggested we are aiming to fly into Frankfurt then drive south toward Munich with a few days to visit the towns around Wurzburg and Rothenberg. We plan to drive on the Romantic road rather than the Autobahn. We know it is a busy time to visit and will keep that in mind. Any other suggestions welcome.

If the Zugspitze remains on your itinerary, there is a wonderful gorge (Partnachklamm) at Garmish-Partenkirchen near the Olympic Stadium used for the 1936 Olympics (parking for it is at the stadium). There is a 3 euro per person entry fee. I recommend taking the path along the river through the gorge and then, once through the gorge, return via the higher path that goes over it, passes a snack house (with bathroom), and includes 2-3 bridges that span the river/gorge. There is also a Sommerrodelbahn (summer toboggan run) right beside the stadium.

We enjoy history, learning about cultures, museums, hiking, music, etc.

Based on the above, for a nice weather day trip I'd recommend the Markus Wasmeier Freilichtmuseum. It's a great open air folk museum next to the Fischhausen-Neuhaus train station. Take the BOB train out of Munich to reach this area. You could also do some nice hiking around the nearby Schliersee, or rent bikes to explore the area. There are some castle ruins nearby that you can hike to for a nice view of the valley.

DJ

Since you will "...visit the towns around Wurzburg and Rothenberg..." do a google search on Miltenberg and see what you think.

If you are going to be in Salzburg get tickets to Orchestra 1756. They are a small orchestra of between 10 and 22 pieces depending on the venue. All there instruments are made in the 1700's. I will admit I am not that much into this type of music. We were with another couple who twisted our arm. This was probably one of the top 10 highlights of my travel life. If I had Bill Gates money I would get on a jet, stop by your house and pick you and your family up for the evening and go see them! Happy travels.

"...talking with my family about options you suggested we are aiming to fly into Frankfurt then drive south toward Munich with a few days to visit the towns around Wurzburg and Rothenberg."

Perhaps you talked with family about TC from Atlanta's suggestion...

Here is a suggestion since you will be driving. Fly into Frankfurt and
take the train to Aschaffenburg.

On first view it looks like a silly idea to the train if you will have a car, but in fact, it's an extremely wise move. Driving immediately after a change of several time zones can be quite dangerous, especially after a red-eye flight. I too would encourage you to postpone the car pick-up until the following day. You might use the train to A'burg or Würzburg and pick up your car there instead of at the airport. The train ride from FRA airport to A'burg by local train takes only an hour and for 4 of you will cost less than €35. My guess is that your car airport car rental fee supplement (you normally pay less when picking up in real towns) is more than that.

When you drive to Rothenburg, be careful with your gps navigator.... entering "Rothenberg" will take you into the Oden Forest... We native English speakers pronounce "burg" and "berg" identically - spelling doesn't matter - but in German it does because the German phoneme system makes them just as distinct as "bug" and "bag" are in English. There are a ton of towns whose names differ only in their "-berg" and "-burg" endings - Neuberg and Neuburg for example.

"...we'd like to see some other areas too that might be easily added to an itinerary... if there is something I have not thought of, I'm open to suggestions!"

I realize you're getting way more suggestions than you can handle. But since you are using FRA, and since FRA is just a short distance from Germany's best destination (IMHO) - the Middle Rhine Valley - it seems a shame not to head straight to MAINZ on Day 1. Check in at a station hotel, then catch a train north to Bingen (20-30 minutes) for a river cruise to St. Goar and a tour of a real castle - Rheinfels. Return by train to Mainz for the night and drive on from there in the morning toward Bavaria.