First time Germany Trip Sanity Check

I don't think "stopping" at Rothenburg along the way from FRA to Munich is very practical.

You will be very tired after a transatlantic flight. Next, rather than a straight shot ICE train from FRA to Munich, you will have to stop at Wuerzburg and change to a regional train to Steinach, then change to the local train to Rothenburg, then walk with all your luggage to the city gates and look around and tick the "I saw Rothenburg" box and walk back to the train station, then the next train to Steinach, then a regional train to Ansbach or Treuchtlingen, then a train to Munich.

You just turned a 3 1/2 hour relaxing train ride into an 8 or 9 hour slog after an overnight flight.

Rothenburg - if you’re not staying overnight to take the Night Watchman’s evening tour skip it.

Re: Berlin Bundestag/Reichstag building you need advance reservations for the guided building tour (which I highly recommend) plus a dome visit: https://visite.bundestag.de/BAPWeb/pages/createBookingRequest/viewBasicInformation.jsf?lang=en You should make those reservations ASAP, like today. The building is closed to visitors on April 10 and there are VERY few time slots available for a building tour on the 11th, 12th, 13th (like one time slot each day). If you only want to visit the dome, you'll have to wait a week or two as it looks like April dates aren't open for reservations yet. Note you go through airport style security to get in the building, so plan accordingly.

Thank you CL. I just submitted our reservation request. Knew I needed a res but didn’t realize it would fill up so fast. And thank you for the info on Rothenburg. We will visit that on another trip to see all of the other many places in Germany.

Rothenburg is not really "on the way" to Munich. It is in a rail cul-de-sac and it will take you 3 hours to get there from Frankfurt, and there are two changes of trains. Then it will take you 3 - 3.5 hours to go to Munich, with 2 - 3 changes of trains. If you have time, yes, sure, but it's not practical for your first day. What might work better is a stop in Nuremberg, although I see it is quite embedded in your circuit, with your departure for Dresden after that (which does sort of make sense). Or just concentrate on getting to Munich on that first day, and use the remainder of your time to get your bearings.

Do you know the Deutsche Bahn website? www.bahn.com , gives you timings and costings, very handy for planning.

Lavandula

Oh, sorry, I see we were cross-posting - you came to the right conclusion about Rothenburg anyway. Good luck, hope you have a good trip!

Lavandula

Thank you Lavandula. I have been using the bahn site to get info. Haven’t been brave enough to book tickets yet but will do that shortly. All of this feedback will help. I will say Rothenburg is now out of the picture.

Congrats on planning your own trip! You have obviously spent alot of time researching.
Just a few quick thoughts-
Why aren't you flying into Munich?
Also, if at all possible, go to Salzburg from Munich, and spend two nights, at least. Salzburg is charming, IMhO. And you could also visit Berchtesgaden .
I'm ALSO not a fan of the castles/palaces at Fussen, they are the definition of tourist trap, again IMHO. Use the time elsewhere. Fussen would be an exhausting day trip, as you're on your feet all day, and the train is two hours each way from Munich.
Keep in mind that two nights is one full day in a town. And transitioning between towns takes much longer than the specific time spent on the train travel itself.
Weather will be brisk, pack your layers !
In any case, have a great trip, and safe travels!

If I'm adding up things accurately, you have 11 days to enjoy sight-seeing, and you're staying overnight in 5 different locations. Every change of location means packing, checking in and out of a hotel or VRBO type apartment, and getting to and from a train station. All that takes up time and energy. I think you might want to eliminate one of the destinations. One possibility is combining your flight home with a morning commuter flight the same day from Berlin to Frankfurt. Just make certain you leave enough time to make the connection between the two flights. That gives you another day to enjoy sight-seeing.. Another possibility is to eliminate Munich from your itinerary and go from Frankfurt Airport to Nurnberg, adding those 4 nights from Munich to your other destinations. Nurnberg would be a pleasant way to start your trip because the train station and almost all the historical sites can be reached on foot.

If you are arriving in Germany after a Trans-Atlantic flight, do you really want to wait around for your train and then sit in a train for another 3.5 hours? If your flight is delayed at all, you will worry about catching your train too. You will be so exhausted you won't be able to enjoy anything that day and probably still be wiped out the next.
Stay overnight in Frankfurt, do some sightseeing (yes, there are gorgeous, medieval churches here and plenty of historical sites) go to bed early and get a good nights sleep. This allows you to book a cheap ICE train for the next morning and you can be in Munich a few hours later, refreshed and ready to sight see.

Tues, Apr 8 take train to Dresden (looks to be 4hrs taking direct express train) and sleep in Dresden Apr 8 and 9

I do not see any direct train from Nuremberg to Dresden. Needs at least one connection.

Regarding cutting down on hotel stays, you can buy a ticket from Munich to Dresden with a stopover, say 8 hours, in Nuremberg. You can store luggage in lockers at the Nuremberg Hbf, see your Nuremberg sights, then continue to Dresden. A long day nonetheless, but it is an option.

Sam I stand corrected. I had duration right but it does require a change. Thank you

What an exciting trip and yay you for all the planning and research!
This past year I was able to visit Munich (then went by train to Salzburg to join a RS tour) and Berlin a few months later. We share an interest in history!
While Berlin gets more attention as far as the Nazis, Hitler got his start in Munich. I was a solo traveler and it was $$$ for a private (amazing) guide who runs a day long tour first to Dachau (using public transport) and then a several hour walking tour to discover various landmarks, architecture, etc. If you don't do a tour like this the book he suggested I read prior was so very insightful and well written:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/784886.Where_Ghosts_Walked
Actually seeing the beer hall then gave me chills rather than being another site on a list.
I did that the day after arrival from the US, my only full day.
The next morning I took the train to Salzburg and used the RS self- guided walk.
I was able to see the giant clock and Marienplatz the afternoon I arrived in Munich. I didn't have much interest in the castle. So maybe 2 full days would be enough? Or 3. Dachau is definitely a half day and you need time to emotionally recover...
It was about 3 hours to Salzburg, maybe stay one night?
Berlin was incredible and 5 full days was barely enough. It's great you booked tickets for the Reichstag. I did a street art tour- fascinating - and then went to see the wall, which wasn't super close to the art area but close enough and it worked well to combine them.
It looks really tacky but the Trabi drive was a highlight. As you loop through those giant Eastern side apartment blocks (plus it was a chilly overcast day) it's like time traveling. The guide was funny and very informative and I highly recommend it.
Berlin has so much history to explore
I did use the RS city walking map also.
Have a wonderful trip!

Berlin part looks OK - maybe some spice could be added.

Do you have special interests for a recommendation?

btw: Wannsee Conference Site was a school hostel in the 70s. It was my first "journey" away from my parents when my Kindergarten class was staying there 1-2 nights.

"We are big into the historical sites.
Hugely.

"...don't want to be stressed trying to get from place to place. I need to know if we have too much time or not enough time in each place or if something should maybe be skipped."

Your tour-group experiences seem to have strongly influenced the way you planned this trip. Do you have any experience getting around large European cities from one place to the other, on your own, using subways, city buses, etc.? You can't reasonably walk your way through Berlin, Munich, and Dresden; the VBB in Berlin and the MVV in Munich are efficient but complex systems, but as a novice you will likely struggle to keep this rigid sightseeing schedule, which on the surface leaves little or no room for error.

If I were as eager as you seem to hit all the highlights mentioned, I know I would be disappointed to have to leave something out. The solution to stress and disappointment is to give yourselves more time in any big city you visit.  

And the way to gain more time is to ELIMINATE one of the big cities. ANITA has already provided one such solution, a slick one indeed (way to go, Anita)...

Another possibility is to eliminate Munich from your itinerary and go
from Frankfurt Airport to Nurnberg, adding those 4 nights from Munich
to your other destinations. Nurnberg would be a pleasant way to start
your trip because the train station and almost all the historical
sites can be reached on foot.

Nuremberg cuts your Day-1 train journey down to 2.25 hours. You get off the train, walk into the old town where your hotel, drop your bags, and you are THERE, surrounded by a town that is truly walkable. Maybe you will actually have some time on Day 1 for sightseeing in the old town zone.

Here's how I would arrange my time to maximize my time and my chances of sightseeing success in the remaining cities; I have chosen DIRECT, late afternoon trains to this end:

Apr 3, 4, 5
- Sleep in Nuremberg 3 nights
- Do a day trip to Rothenburg (the touristy option) on one day - or to BAMBERG (the UNESCO World Heritage site "historic-city" option.)

Apr 6 morning and early afternoon
- Leave bags at hotel or in a station locker; remain in Nuremberg during the day to complete the sightseeing you have outlined.
- Leave N'berg 16:01 for Berlin (ar 18:56) or 14:37 for Dresden (ar. 19:04.)

Apr 6-13 (8 nights)
- 5 nights for Berlin, 3 nights for Dresden

Apr 14
- morning sightseeing time in Berlin or Dresden

Train to FRA airport hotel for one night (I don't see the point of adding Frankfurt; why mess with shuttling from the city on your fly-home day?)

From Dresden: 16:10 - 20:56 by direct ICE train to FRA terminal station
From Berlin: 15:17 - 19:51 by direct ICE train to FRA terminal station

You stated your intention to return to Germany later on... that should be the trip which includes your explorations of Munich, southern Bavaria, perhaps Austria as well. Removing all that geography from this trip is the way to go.

I agree with Ms. Jo that spending the day you land at Frankfurt is so much better than a train ride after a long flight. Over the last 12 years we've done it both ways and spending the first night in Frankfurt has worked out so much better. We also spend the night before leaving Frankfurt at a hotel near the airport. Often we have been allowed to get into our hotel room early drop off our luggage and walk around the city and eat a leisurely lunch and dinner. It just starts our vacation off better for us. Do what is best for you and have a wonderful time!