Great towns from Freiberg north to Dusseldorf

Are we talking about Freiberg in Saxony, Freiberg am Neckar or even Freiburg im Breisgau? That makes a big difference to your trip.

I am assuming based on your final destination and its direction you mean Freiburg im Breisgau.

Düsseldorf is well worth it for me. I've done a day trips into Holland from Düsseldorf, ie to Utrecht. I stay close to Düsseldorf Hbf

I would suggest Koblenz, nearby Bad Ems and Limburg, Bonn and Bad Godesberg, and Cologne too if you want stick close main train lines. But then , how much are you willing to deviate based on specific interests?

I'm asking about the Freiburg due West of Munich. Thanks.

The easiest would be to go via Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Mainz (or Bingen), Koblenz, and Dusseldorf. But with the construction I doubt that's best.

You might want to look at going Strasbourg, Metz, Luxembourg, Koblenz, Dusseldorf.

In addition to the towns mentioned, Baden-Baden is a direct shot from Freiburg on the main rail line, detouring up the Mosel Valley from Koblenz is nice, with Cochem and Bernkastel-Kues.

Dusseldorf has a nice old town, the local Alt beer, worth a night or two.

For flying out, I would get closer to Amsterdam the night before. Dusseldorf to Schiphol is only 2 1/2 hours, but trains running on time on that route, for me, is about 20% on time. I would suggest Utrecht at least, Leiden would be closer (15 minutes to the airport), if you did not want to be in Amsterdam proper.

Might help if you post how many nights you are looking to fill. If only 3 or 4, then the answer is much different than if a couple weeks.

Mainz is an okay place, and probably not worthy of your limited time along your route. Except for the church there with beautiful blue stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall in his signature painting style. I'm a big fan of the modernist era in Europe, and it you are too you will be thrilled by the free entry to view great art.

Chagall was commissioned for stained glass all over the world and it's all splendid - would like to see it all in person. His modernist style blends remarkably well into much older surroundings.

https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/chagalls-stained-windows/

Scroll down a bit for Mainz.

The church is a bit away from the hauptbahnhof, easier by car, but I you can bus, tram, taxi or walk (it's in a nice old neighborhood) pretty easily.

Otherwise Bacharach is probably the queen bee big village on the middle Rhine (the castle-y part). Bingen is good too, pretty and lots of good restaurants.

Vielen Dank all for your helpful insights.

Between Freiburg (Breisgau)and Dusseldorf I have only Oct 15-17 open on my itinerary. I'm thinking only Koblenz right now. If I add one more train stop (in addition to Koblenz), which would you choose as nicest, laid back town and still is efficient given my Amsterdam airport final destination Oct 19?

Koblenz is fine. Its affect is that of a small big city. I bicycle tour, and was not comfortable locking my good quality bike outside in Koblenz for even 5 minutes. I'm not saying it's at all a bad place, have stayed there probably seven or eight times. But it's not anything like a charming wine village, an good number of which you have easy access to along the same route

IMO Cochem, very nearby to Koblenz and a bit of a bigger sort of village, is a much more charming tourist destination.

I would suggest Limburg also if your preference is for a smaller place, obviously more "laid back" than is Koblenz

On the direct train connection from Düsseldorf , you could choose to stay in Neuss, across the river. Neuss and Düsseldorf are connected by the U-Bahn.

Partly because I like Museums, I am a big fan of Cologne, which is very close to Dusseldorf. Many posters on this board have some interest in (at least) the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal. But Cologne is good for a few days even without Dusseldorf, and it has much more to do that Koblenz, despite wartime destruction in Cologne.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/can-i-see-enough-of-cologne

Will the KD boats still be running on the Rhine? It says 20 October 2024 here:
https://www.k-d.com/en/

"scenic middle-Rhine" boat ride, Bingen to St. Goar or Boppard, for example.

Between Freiburg (Breisgau)and Dusseldorf I have only Oct 15-17 open
on my itinerary. I'm thinking only Koblenz right now. If I add one
more train stop (in addition to Koblenz), which would you choose as
nicest, laid back town and still is efficient given my Amsterdam
airport final destination Oct 19?

We can go on here naming nice towns, but I don't think we can give you any practical suggestions until your guidelines to us get cleared up.

What date and time do you fly out of Schiphol (Amsterdam's airport)?

Is it your plan to sleep at/near Schiphol the night before? (a good idea.) Or to travel from some other distant place like Düsseldorf? (not so good, probably.)

If only the 15th - 17th are in play after Freiburg, then you apparently have to be in some unnamed place on the 18th. Please explain.