Germany by rental car - for a right hand steer driver

I posted an answer to your identical question in the General Europe section...

You might find well planned travel by train to be a better and less nerve-wracking travel method. The rail system is excellent in Germany, and that will get you to all the places you mentioned.

I have done the reverse twice, traveling to Ireland. I found it tricky the first thing each morning to re-adjust my mind to which side of the road to use. I did not find the gear shift difficult. Luckily at that time cars were more scarce in Ireland than they are in Germany today. The roads were not as busy.

I have considered revisiting Ireland and/or England but would not want to try drive at my more advanced age. Their public transportation systems are a bit of a mystery to me, though I have tried to understand them.

Germany's public transportation system seems far more understandable to me, though there is learning curve. As mentioned above, I would recommend taking trains. A friend of mine prefers tour groups and there is nothing wrong with that either. Germans often drive fast and sometimes there is little room for error.

If you can deal with the switch of driving on the left side, I strongly recommend that you rent a car for visiting that area where you are visiting primarily rural areas with many scenic roads and sights. We just completed a trip to that area by rental car and loved the flexibility it gave. We also felt that traveling by car gave us the ability to see a lot more places than if we had used public transportation. (For example, we found many scenic country places while driving where we could stop as we pleased.) In addition, car rental rates are very reasonable and gas is now much less expensive. We found that German roads and autobahns are excellent with much less traffic than here in California.

Driving culture might be more of an issue than right or left hand.

Obey the many ever changing speed limits no-passing and give way signs. Use the indicators, but not the horn. Learn how to get on and off the autobahn. It is very save, because strictly no intersections, pedestrians, bicycles or tractors. The slip roads can have tight bends and you have to accellerate properly to at least 80km/h to sneak in between the trucks. On autobahn you will be in between many slow trucks and few fast maniacs, even at night. Use left lane only to pass and to go fast. Watch the rear mirror and move out of way when faster cars approach from behind. Watch trucks and slower cars in front of you on the right lane, because they may move to the left lane any time to pass. 130-140km/h is a good crusing speed. Going faster is stressful. There are many sections with road works, 60, 80 or 100km/h speed limits and often narrower passing lanes. Then better stay behind the trucks.

I don't think I would have any trouble with the shifting as I taught several women to drive stick by sitting in the passenger seat and shifting for them with my left hand, but the side-of-the-road problem concerns me. You have to be particularly attentive turning into the correct lane at intersections and at roundabouts.

You don't need a car in Germany. I've spend almost 6 months, cumulatively, in Germany, 85% of my time in small towns, and I've never felt a need for a car to get to where I wanted to go. But it does require some advance planning. I've always planned where I wanted to go first, then looked for public transportation, and I've always found a way to go without a car. If I did want to go somewhere and couldn't find public transportation, I would rent a car, but so far it's never been necessary.

BTW, Munich, Ettal, and Oberammergau are not on the Romantic Road. I did the entire Romantic Road by train and bus, not by car.