Correct amount of time on Rhine, romantic road and castle areas?

Krakow is a long way to go in both directions; it's not really in the neighborhood. With just two days and two nights there, you will be very pressed if you wanted to side trip to Auschwitz in addition to seeing the city center - for instance, our bus tours see Auschwitz on the driving day toward Krakow and then sleep three nights in that city. I would cut Krakow and split that time between Prague and Berlin, which don't have enough time in the original plan. I don't have any particular concerns about your other timing. Direct trains from Prague to Berlin take only 5 hours.

For the Rhine, do head a bit farther south than Bacharach to catch the ship back to St. Goar. If you only start in Bacharach, you miss a good portion of the Rhine. Go by train to Bingen and get on the ship there. Then train back to your car. You will be glad you did. It isn't that long of a ride to begin with, but you will see many more castles and the vineyards and Rhine gorge will be very pretty this time of year with the trees in bloom.

Laura,
Thank you for the advice. I will do that. I had heard that Kraków is a lovely city, and I was thinking it would be fun to take an overnight train. But you are correct that it really isn't in the neighborhood. I needed a sanity check.
Ms. Jo,
I will also do this. Thank you. When I read that someone was doing a day trip from Bacharach to Cologne, I began to think that maybe these towns are all quite close together and that we didn't need travel days. But I'm sure there are other things to do and see along the way.

Thank you both for your help.

So do you plan to do all the stuff after "The plan also includes..." by train, and do it all after Munich? If so, you are doing a whole lot of backtracking. If not, perhaps you could put your destinations in chronological order. Where do you land, and where do you fly out from?

"...take boat from Bacharach to St. Goar and train back..."

St Goar is a nice place to finish up, but that's a mere 40-minute ride. I would not skip the Bingen-Bacharach scenery.

Scene near Bingen

My tip would be to cruise Bingen-St. Goar instead (it's only 4 more euros to do that part too.) From Bacharach, you take the train to Bingen to begin the cruise. It will cost you €4 each for the train, but you will get a 20% discount on the cruise - a €4-discount - BECAUSE you took the train and showed your train ticket at the KD dock - so the train trip is virtually free. KD offers a 20% discount to cruise patrons arriving by train (for some reason.)

Speaking of the train, I'm actually a little puzzled by your decision to drive to the destinations you've chosen in Germany when you can get there by train (with the exception of driving the Romantic Road all the way, that is.) The Rhine is very easy by train. (You might want to see Marksburg Castle in Braubach too - and the train gets you there.) Munich and Füssen are easy by train too. The train trip to Rothenburg involves several changes of train but it's not a big deal and visitors use the train to get there all the time. Seeing every last Romantic Road town in between Rothenburg and Füssen is easier by car, but I don't suggest it, really... the scenery isn't that great and there are other great towns you can get to near Rothenburg that just don't happen to line up nicely for inclusion on the Romantic Road...

One Romantic Road town that you have planned to skip on the way to Rothenburg is a city, really - Würzburg. (By train you would have a change there on the way to Rothenburg.) You could stop over there - put bags in a station locker and see the sights. The Residenz Palace is terrific and a UNESCO World Heritage site. There's more to Würzburg as well.
Residenz virtual tour
Main River Bridge in W'burg
Marienberg Fortress in W'burg

From W'burg the train to Rothenburg via Steinach follows the Main River and passes through Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit, very attractive old world towns with fewer tourists than Rothenburg:
"A Day Out..."

DW and I recently made Würzburg our base town and took train trips to these towns and also to Iphofen (about 22 minutes by train.) Iphofen is outstanding.
Iphofen photos

Not that you should do all these places necessarily - but they are good alternatives to driving the Romantic Road and renting a car in the first place, IMO.

"When I read that someone was doing a day trip from Bacharach to Cologne"
That's impossible by boat. No doubt this was a train trip. Even by train, it's nearly 4 hours round trip.

Actually, since they are somewhat short on time, having the car in Bacharach isn't a bad idea. Using it to take the ferry across the Rhine, and to drive up to the Marksburg is going to be more efficient then waiting on those once an hour trains and walking up the hill to the castle. Same thing with driving down to Rüdesheim. The trains are great and I love them as well as use them exclusively, but along the Rhine, they are hard to match up with ship times, etc. One does waste quite a bit of time getting from one place to another sometimes. For the cruise though, I would drive to St. Goar, train to Bingen, then ride the ship to St. Goar where they can be back in their car.

I can now see how confusing my question was. We fly into Amsterdam, train to Bruge, then Cologne and pick up the car. The rest are in order after Munich, by train, probably eliminating Kraków (although I do hate to give up the sleeping compartment experience), flying home from Berlin. The car rental actually started because it seems to be difficult to get to Burg Eltz, which I understand is a must-see. (Also, we "live in our cars" in Southern California, where we live, so a car seems much more comfortable to us.)

I haven't seen the virtual tour yet, but the Main River Bridge picture sold me on Wurzburg. I'm also thrilled to hear about Ochsenfurt, Marktbreit and Iphofen. All this is exactly what I've needed. And, oh, the picture near Bingen! And thanks for the tip on the discount. Ms. Jo, we will definately drive to St. Goar, train to Bingen and ride the ship back to St. Goar (efficient) and take the ferry across to see Marksburg.

Most of my time lately has been stressful, trying to plan everything perfectly. Thank you both for getting me excited again instead of stressed.

nancycasey:

Jo mentions ship times, Marksburg and Rüdesheim as advantages for renting a car.

About ship times and the car: Jo suggests you take the train to Bingen but first drive to St. Goar to drop the car. That means you have a 15-min. drive plus time to park and walk to the train platform. And then you have 10 minutes longer on the train to Bingen than you would from Bacharach. So that adds about 30 minutes right there.

When the cruise boat returns to St. Goar at :55 after the hour, you can get in the car and leave immediately to return to Bacharach, if that's what you want to do; the earliest train leaves at :19 after the hour. So you'd have 25 min. to kill while you make your way from the dock to the train platform - maybe a quick look around town or some time to enjoy the river view.

As far as time goes, it seems like a "wash" either way.

Also, who wants to leave St. Goar right away anyway? Rheinfels Castle is right there. You will have a 10-min uphill walk if you don't have a car.
Rheinfels

About Marksburg and Rüdesheim: I have no idea if you are interested in these places or not - all we have from you about your Bacharach stay is the cruise. If you are interested in Rüdesheim, the smart thing to do is to incorporate a visit there into your cruise day. Here's how...
- take the train to Bingen as Jo and I suggest.
- take the ferry to R'heim for a couple of hours.
- catch a northbound cruise boat from R'heim to St. Goar
- do whatever in St. Goar and take the train back to Bacharach (or your car if you drove it there to start your day.)

If you make Rüdesheim a car outing from Bacharach you'll likely rack up more hours and ferry crossing fees.

Getting to Marksburg: probably a little easier by car, but not a lot of trouble by train either:

- train (10 min.) or drive to St. Goar ferry.
- ferry to St. Goarshausen
- train (22 min. ride) to Braubach (or drive)

The car will very likely be a more expensive way to go with rental fees, gas, parking fees, ferry fees, insurance, etc. Weigh those costs against the (seemingly minor if any) advantages.

"The car rental actually started because it seems to be difficult to get to Burg Eltz, which I understand is a must-see."

You know, must-sees are optional, IMO. But I like Burg Eltz very much and recommend it. It takes longer but it is not "difficult" to reach without a car. You take the train from Cochem to Moselkern (17 min.) and walk from there. The route is popular and well-signed. My 75-year-old in-laws did this walk.

How to walk to Burg Eltz

Rick's description gives you a feel for what the walk is like:
"A castle tucked away in Germany's Mosel Valley wins my award for the best castle interior. As you approach through the gentle trees of an ancient forest — where you'd expect the Seven Dwarves or Martin Luther to be hiding out — a castle of your fantasies suddenly appears. It is Burg Eltz, nestled in an enchanted setting just above the river, lovingly cared for by an aristocratic family that has called it home for centuries. The family's noble matriarch still puts out fresh flowers for her many visitors."

Full text: Magic Moments in Europe

Yes, we're definately planning to visit Reinfels. Taking the ferry to Rudesheim sounds like a great plan, so I looked up what to see and do. Of course, I found Drosselgasse, but then Weingut Adolf Sturzel's stories of wine producing techniques and economics got me. Have you been there? With your help I've gone from thinking I could steal a day from these areas to thinking I might need to add one.

I agree with Russ about walking to Burg Eltz. We did it with my daughter, who had badly broken her foot and was in a moon boot at the time. A few hairy moments where it was wet and slippery, but she managed okay. The walk was an absolute delight and an integral part of the experience as far as I am concerned.

"Of course, I found Drosselgasse, but then Weingut Adolf Sturzel's stories of wine producing techniques and economics got me. Have you been there?"

Yes, in Rüdesheim, that is, several times, both for Christmas markets and summer evenings, but just as your average tourist. It's a fun place for a short visit, IMO. I can't tell you much about wine production at all, only that I enjoy drinking it.

I've stayed in St. Goar a few times. As for wine... across the river (ferry runs all day) in St. Goarshausen is the Historical City Tower (Stadturm) a nice walk to the south end of town with a wine tasting room and "wine museum" with wine glasses and steins from the past.

PHOTO INSIDE
PHOTO OUTSIDE

"I've gone from thinking I could steal a day from these areas to thinking I might need to add one."
Yup.

On the same side of the river as the city tower and Rüdesheim is Braubach, 20 minutes north of St. Goarshausen by train. It's a beautiful little place with the best castle tour on the Rhine. I would drop Neuschwanstein (faux castle, late 19th century) for the 700+-year-old authenticity of Marksburg Castle any day.

BRAUBACH, old town market square
MARKSBURG
MARKSBURG information

BTW in St. Goar: The hotel next to Rheinfels has a decent terrace-cafe ("Landgraf") with a super view:
Landgraf terrace

There are some great views from trails on the plateaus that overlook the river valley:
Rheinblick

Yeah, Rick overemphasizes the cruise and completely understates the on-land pleasures of the Rhine, IMO. Too many people cruise through and leave much too quickly.

While I certainly agree that Neuschwanstein is a faux castle, I can't really ignore it, so I stole a day from later in the trip and have added a day to Bacharach. I had already seen the Marksburg website (probably from another of your postings to someone else's question, Russ), and it had pushed me over the brink (I was already considering it). And the terrace next to Rheinfels looks lovely, although perhaps a little chilly for April. We'll also check out the wine museum. Thank you again.