Frankfurt, Bamberg, Nurmberg, Regensburg then meet tour in Prague

We were in Berlin & Dresden October, 2021. It's a 2 hour train ride southeast of Berlin--going toward Prague.

We found Dresden to be an incredibly beautiful city, and the museums there are second to none. It's so much more "German" than many other cities that have been more "Westernized".

The Saxony Region is somewhere that we'll be returning to.

I'd mention Leipzig and Erfurt. I was sorry to miss the Zeiss museum in Jena, but that's less easy by train, as are Celle and Quedlinburg. You might want to end in a city with the better rail connection to Prague, with fewer changes.

I would plan less time for Bamberg and more for Nuremberg. Bamberg has a great gothic cathedral and a picturesque town hall, but otherwise the city's appeal lies more in the fact that you can walk around in a historical urban ensemble. Nuremberg has many more sights, both medieval (after all, it was one of the most important cities of the Holy Roman Empire) and WW2 related. I would go from Frankfurt directly to Nuremberg (faster than Bamberg) and do Bamberg as a day trip (with a cheap VGN ticket).
For the train from Regensburg to Prague (every two hours): compare the prices on the DB website with those on the Czech Railways site (cd.cz). Most of the time the tickets are cheaper there (as of today: DB €28, CZ €13.50 pp). There are two Flix Buses per day, which are 45 min faster, leaving Regensburg in the late afternoon and early evening, resp..

I agree with sla19 - stay in Nuremberg and do a day trip to Bamberg and Regensburg. I finished a 30 day trip to Germany in May and wrote about the 3 places in a trip report. It's long, since it covers 30 days, but you can just scroll down to Days 5 through 8 to read about those three. I was glad I stayed in Nuremberg - it's large enough to have lots of lodging availability and restaurants but is compact enough that you do not feel like you are staying in a large city.

Germany Trip Report

I should mention that I am a beer nut and Bamberg has a great variety not seen elsewhere in Germany, and I can't sample as much in a day trip as I used to. My wife wouldn't appreciate much either

Also we are spending one day in Frankfurt to chill after the flight, 2 days in Bamberg, 2 days in Nuremburg, then 1 day in Regensburg. If our schedule gets crunched then Regensburg will be skipped

David: I would very much like to visit Leipzig, Berlin and Dresden but thats going to have to wait for another time.

sla019: Thanks for the tips on Flix bus and Czech train tickets and Nuremburg.

Mardee: Yes to Nazi Documentation Center and Toy Museum and thanks for your trip report.
Bob

I was stationed in Bamberg in the mid 80s and would choose it over Nuremberg every time. As a beer fan, no city eclipses Bamberg, IMHO.

https://en.bamberg.info

Let me know what other kinds of things are interesting for you while you are visiting Frankfurt. Markets, Medieval churches, Jewish Heritage, Museums? We do have a wine festival going that week.

Other events. (wasn't sure if you were landing on the 1st or earlier):
26-28 Aug.- Museum Riverbank Fest, Frankfurt Main River

26-29 Aug.- Düdelsheimer Markt., Büdingen

31 Aug.-9 Sept. – Rheingau Wine Fest, Frankfurt Fressgasse

2-5 Sept. – Lantern Fest, Bad Homburg

3 Sept. – Brückenwall Street Party, Frankfurt Sachsenhausen

3 Sept. – Fisher Festival, Frankfurt Fechenheim, 11:00-midnight

Time of year? I would suggest a stop and overnight around Würzberg in the Franken Wein region (Main River). Try the wine you will not find too much outside of Germany... Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau, etc. Enjoy the whole culture surrounding it. Not all of Franken and Bayern is Bier.

the giant bunny...

Albrecht Dürer's house (museum) in Nuremberg just below the covered walkway on top of the walls of the vast castle (I slept there - in the DJH youth hostel in the attached stables, in the 1970s) is well worth a visit https://museums.nuernberg.de/albrecht-duerer-house as is the above mentioned castle.

ok, it's a hare. still prefer it to be a giant bunny.

The giant dead bronze bunny (Jürgen Goertz). Rub the the you know what to get pregnant. This is my favorite corner of the Nürnberg Altstadt. Great with sun on a fall/spring morning. Many famous paintings, lithograph etc. from this Ecke. One hangs on my office wall.