FINALLY booked my trip to Germany

FINALLY booked my flight to Germany into Munich out of Frankfurt

Your trip plan looks good;
stay tuned as we sort out a way to execute it

Missing Oktoberfest? Aw shucks.

Sam... the cost and scarcity of hotels plus the crowds put us right off. I dont drink at all and although my husband does, we both want to get the hell out of there before it starts.

"There are 2 of us, mid 50's, interested in pretty scenery, small towns, churches, palaces and castles... We will be using trains and public transportation."

OK.

"I'm thinking I'd like to get Munich done and over with..."

Sounds like Munich isn't high on your list. To visit some of the specific "usual touristy things" on your list, you will need to travel via Munich - but it might have a few things of interest for you and worth a short stop. You might not have heard about Nymphenburg Palace, for example, since guidebooks seem determined to steer foreign tourists only to the "king's castles" (which are all palaces, actually.)

Seeing ALL those places south of Munich would be time-consuming and tricky by public transport - as well as somewhat repetitive. Train lines run mostly north and south, but those places are lined up east-west. You'd be on a fair number of pokey buses. I think you'd be wise to stick to the one east-west train line heading east from Munich and choose a single spot in the Alps for a base town - probably Berchtesgaden - and use it as a base to see Salzburg, the Eagle's Nest, and the surrounding Alps (the Koenigssee for sure, ride the Obersalzbergbahn, do the Sommerrodelbahn ride and the Wimbachklamm gorge hike.) Berchtesgaden has the same sorts of attractive buildings that are found elsewhere in the Alps. And it's easy to get there by train from Munich.

In between Munich and Berchtesgaden and right on that train line is one of the King's "Castles" - Herrenchiemsee Palace. You can stow bags at the Prien train station then catch a the boat to the island (Herreninsel) and the palace.

If you stay in Prien, you would have time for a trip to Aschau and the mountain lift there. Take a hike or visit the Sonnenalm.

In Salzburg is one of Europe's largest real castles - Hohensalzburg. The Rhine has the most easily-accessible castles - Rheinfels, Marksburg and Burg Eltz are all easy to get to from Boppard.

Besides Herrenchiemsee and Nymphenburg palaces, you could also visit Wuerzburg's Residenz Palace when you're in the Rothenburg area. Trains between Rothenburg and the Rhine all pass through Wuerzburg anyway. R'burg is NOT the only town here - just the one with the most tourists. I would stay in this area for a few days too. Visit Bad Windsheim... Iphofen... Marktbreit... and Bamberg. All are accessible by train from Wuerzburg.

Bad choice of words... I meant, I would like to get Munich done and over with before the crowds start pouring in. We would both like to spend at least a couple of days there

If you have an interest in history or religion, 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the posting of the 95 Theses and all the Luther locations are celebrating the event. Most are small cities, so lodging could be scarce and overpriced, but you could easily daytrip to most sights from a nearby but less expensive location.

what kind of opening hours would we be up against on a Sunday? Is everything closed? Like for instance, the Herrenchiemsee Palace. Is a Sunday better left as a travel day or a "wandering around the town and taking pictures" kind of day?

For instance, could I stay in Oberammergau and visit Ettal, Linderhof, Kings castles, and Wieskirche easily? Or is it too far/long for a day trip?

You can, but not on a single day. Public transport to Linderhof and the Wies is poor, and if you succeed in visiting Linderhof, Wies and Oberammergau on a single day you have done a great job of organization. Staying in Ettal would you allow to visit the abbey same evening or next morning. There ist a great Gasthof and brewery, »Ludwig der Bayer«, just opposite the abbey (and run by it). For Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau I'd base myself in Füssen or nearby. That gives you more time to enjoy the environment (e.g. going up to the Tegelberg cable car and hiking down to Neuschwanstein).

what kind of opening hours would we be up against on a Sunday? Is everything closed? Like for instance, the Herrenchiemsee Palace.

Herrchiemsee is open on sundays. Opening hours of Herrchiemsee, Neuschwanstein and the other castles an palaces administrated by the stately Bayerische Schlösser- und Seenverwaltung can be found here.

@sla019... LOL I am not good at verbalizing what is in my head. I didn't mean to imply that I wanted to visit all those places in one day! I meant, would Oberammergau be a decent place to base myself for a few days while I visited those places?

It is, of course. Personally, I'd base myself in (Ettal see above), but that's a matter of taste. Happy planning!

why would that be?

The trick is if you base yourself in Oberammergau you may be able to have your lodging arrange a tour to visit visit Ettal, Linderhof, Kings castles, and Wieskirche. If you have found lodging in Oberammergau you should ask them if they offer any type tours covering the places in the area you want to see because I'm finding that most of the transportation to the places you want to see from Oberammergau is by bus or limited. This will take time to sort out

So far I can see the possibilty of Munich and Oberammergau as two places to base yourself maybe 3 or 4 days each in order to cover all the stuff you want to see.

The thing is people here are muddying things by make suggestions that are not in your original plans

"The thing is people here are muddying things by make suggestions that are not in your original plans"

That's ok... if I like the suggestion, I can further look into it. If it's not for me, then I just discard it and move along. Suggestions are always welcome!

"...would Oberammergau be a decent place to base myself for a few days while I visited those places?"

Possibly but not "easily." Staying in O'gau is probably a bit better than staying Ettal (where you'd have to board a bus to get anywhere every single time) but you are still going to be spending 3 hours on buses round trip to the N'stein stop.
I wouldn't have a problem with that myself, but then I don't think N'stein and its packed, rushed, 30-min. tour is particularly worthwhile.

http://www.dw.com/en/is-neuschwanstein-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/a-17887035

And in fact its easy for train users to find palaces like Linderhof and Hohenschwangau elsewhere in Germany (like Wuerzburg) where you don't need to rely on skimpy bus schedules.

I previously neglected to mention the Berchtesgaden visitors card, which provides guests with free local transport to local sights and a cheap ride into Salzburg:

http://www.berchtesgaden.de/en/free-of-charge-with-bus

Actually..... there IS a tour I saved to look at later, it's called Astrid Baur (or Bauer) tours and its a full day out of Fuessen I believe. They hit spots that interest me. And i wouldn't have to navigate anywhere. Its a bus tour for about 8 hours. Everything is arranged. The only thing I dont know is, the length of time visiting the places. And of course the cost is a factor. I know its cheaper to do it myself. But if the timing to and from these places is tight, maybe a day tour would work for us.

In 2007, I based myself in Oberammergau and toured Linderhof and Wieskirche before heading up the Romantic Road to Landsberg. The first day in Oberammergau I took the morning bus to Linderhof. It is really easy to get to. I was so fascinated with the grounds at Linderhof. I spent the entire day there (and had a nice lunch at the Gaststätte near the entrance. The next day, when I left on the bus to Wieskirche, there were a couple from the Gästehaus who were going all the way to Hohenschwangau (the town, not the castle) for the day. It's very accessible by bus from Oberammergau.

Wieskirche, IMO, is a waste of time. Just one more over-the-top gawdy Rococo church like so many in Bavaria. I don't think I spent more than five minutes viewing the interior.

A couple of years ago I took the bus between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberammergau (also an easy trip).

I've stayed here, at Gästehaus Richter, twice and can recommend it. It's only a block from the Bahnhof/bus station. Frau Richter speaks good English and can help you with transportation arrangements.

Thank you Lee. That is where i want to stay as well.

I think Richter is very reasonably priced for Oberammergau, but she only has eight double rooms, so book early. She gets a lot of traffic from people visiting the local NATO facility in town.

The places that you have on your itinerary that are in the southern part of Bavaria are mostly pretty scenery, small towns, churches, palaces and castles. In my opinion you have made excellent choices. But from the responses you have received so far it would appear that there is no easy way to see these places by public transportation. I see that you live 20 miles from the auto capital of North America. If you normally drive around Michigan I would encourage you to consider renting a car when you are leaving Munich and dropping it off at the airport in Frankfurt. Driving in Germany is not much different from driving in Michigan. Sure there are roads in Germany that have no speed limit but most of your places are reachable by country roads not unlike those in Ohio and Michigan. With a car you could drive from Salzburg to Oberammergau or Ettal along the foothills of the Alps, past lots of beautiful scenery, small towns and pretty lakes, at the time of day that works for you. At least consider renting a car.