Germany/Czech travel - train or car?

The best choice for me personally here will be to rent a car as it will allow you to enjoy the nature sights on the road and also do some quick stops in beautiful villages on the way. With the train, you will need to do a lot of train changes which can be annoying especially when you had a child and heavy luggage

I agree with Lubitsch, each of those places deserves more time and stick to trains!

What train changes? These routes each have direct service. And parking in big cities is rarely free.

Train. I like driving in Europe but you don't have time to stop along the way in scenic places and quaint towns, plus driving/parking in big cities is not fun.

4 cities in 8 days?! Why are you going to these places? With one full day in each would you have time to see even your top priority sites?

I suggest dropping Prague since it would require two long travel days with only one day to see anything.

Enjoy the trip!

Usually people recommend 2-3 full days in Hamburg, 4-6 in Berlin, 2-4 in Prague, and 3-5 in Munich. You want to spend one full day in each city. And a car makes absolutely no sense since all these cities are connected by direct trains and cars are a hassle in big cities. In Central Europe you only need a car if you want to explore the countryside.
With just 8 days available I would drop two cities (with one day trip in each city) and travel by train, or visit one city for 4-5 days and explore the surrounding countryside by car for the rest of the days.

Thank you all for your responses. We have decided to eliminate Prague and add those days to Berlin. We will be taking trains between Hamburg-Berlin-Munich.