Germany - 10 days. How to Plan Itinerary

Generally speaking, the 3-to-10-day recommendations you refer to involve a lot of ground travel and will put you on the heavily-trodden tour-bus trail with too many international tourists. Some of that is a good thing, but not for your whole trip. Since you will be in France and the Netherlands, I suggest a 10-day itinerary with fewer miles in it, one that sticks somewhat closer to Germany's western border. (The point isn't to travel all geographic points in Germany but to have a good and varied German experience, right?)

I assume you're traveling into Germany from Amsterdam, so you'll likely cross over at Emmerich, near the Rhine River.

"We would like to see the Rhine, ?Black Forest"

The Black Forest is a stone's throw from Strasbourg and Colmar in France. So here are some options for you to explore between Emmerich and the Black Forest that include small towns and larger cities. SOOOO much to choose from...

Cologne
Aachen
Mainz
Upper Middle Rhine Valley villages and castles... (Marksburg is a standout)
Mosel River Valley towns and cities and castles (Burg Eltz is a standout. Reichsburg is worthwhile too - falconry show!)
Heidelberg
Ludwigsburg
Neckar Valley towns and castles - Hirschhorn castle/hotel for example
Black Forest villages: Schiltach, Gengenbach, Gutach
Freiburg

Berlin is good for WW II history but many miles away, and certainly not mandatory. If WW II sites interest you, you can find old German bunkers, concentration camp memorial sites, and WW II museums in Germany near the French/Belgian border and near the north-south route outlined above. Cologne has a Nazi documentation center in a former Gestapo prison.

Consider a couple of nights in Switzerland if you can as well.

Thanks Russ, totally agree with you regarding not wanting to be rushed/tired, and moving all the time. I think it will boil down to chosing some places that I like the best and trying to work out how long to stay at each. We do not move all that well, so for us, I think quality time in quality places might be best.

PS. We will probably go to Normandy, in France, so not so concerned with war history in Berlin, although would like to go there.

Have you determined where you will fly into and out of? That is probably the best way to start.

I am working on our 2016 trip (Germany, Salzburg, Prague, A'dam) and found I had to first find the easiest/best/most economical start and end points.

We are flying into Frankfurt, home from Amsterdam.

Hi Christene, no haven't worked out where we will fly in and out of yet. I tend to think we would prefer to go to France first, which means probably flying back to Australia from Germany. As we want to go to Amsterdam, I wondered about the idea of spending some days in Amsterdam, (after France), and maybe doing a river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, (one week). After this we could perhaps see a little of Switzerland or Germany. Of course, this would mean extending the ten days. Always difficult to work out where to go in the time we have!

Going from Amsterdam to Basel means you are cruising against the flow of the Rhine and your trip will be much slower. Consider going South to North instead. Can you fly into Basel and cruise from there?

The itinerary suggestions you have outlined below would have you moving pretty fast. I suggest you pick one or two areas and focus your planning there. Actually, it sounds like you may have already picked the Rhine and Black Forest regions as the focus of your trip.

I think the car vs train question really boils down to what works best for the places you want to see and your preferred style of travel. I don't necessarily agree that 'you don't see as much' if you take the train, I think you see things differently. If you are focusing mainly on cities and larger towns, then don't waste your time and money with a car. If you are wanting to explore more countryside and smaller towns then a car may end up being your best option. You may find that an itinerary with mostly train travel and one or two day rentals works best. Wait until you have a better idea of what you want to see before you decide.

Just wanted to mention that while RS info is great- there are a lot of places in Germany he completely ignores and dismisses out of hand.
Heidelberg- for example- after I did my own research on other sites, other guide books we decided we would like to go there, so we will.
I'd also try to do very few if any 1 night stays- 2 or 3 nights are much better- so the 10 day segment of your trip in Germany could be 4 diff places- 2 nights, 3 nights, 2 nights, 3 nights or something along those lines. Work out where you can day trip to easily from.
Rent a car for just a portion where it makes the most sense (I'd guess Black Forest area in your plan- or maybe the Fussen/Bavarian Castle area- or line those 2 locations up and keep the car for 5-6 nights.)

I am in no way any kind of expert or experienced Germany traveler- I've been to Berlin- but here is what I have worked out for our 24 night trip- 11 nights are in Germany.
Fly into FRA
Bus to Heidelberg- 2 nights- pick up rental car here on our way out of town
Rothenburg Area- 3 nights- drive Castle Road, day trips to Bamberg or/or Nuremberg
Drive to Fussen/Garmisch- 3 nights here- drop car
Train to Munich 3 nights
Train to Salzburg 3 nights with day trip to Berchtesgaden
Bus/train to Hallstatt- 2 nights
CK shuttle to Cesky Krumlov- 2 nights
CK shuttle to Prague- 3 nights
Fly yo Amsterdam- 3 nights

We really did want to see Rhine Valley, Black Forest and a whole bunch of other places but had to pick and choose this seems to give us a relaxed trip, easy transits and a bit of variety. At least I hope so!

I love http://www.rome2rio.com for figuring out how to get to/from places- helps to see how long drives are, how easy trains are, etc.,

Thanks so much everyone, for all your help. Some great ideas have been suggested. More research is required!
Thank you