Help with Itinerary

Why did you choose Germany? Your question is just too broad to attempt to answer.
If you have 10 nights ( better to count nights, not days) three bases would probably best serve you.
It would help if you reviewed the itineraries in the RS Guidebook and the RS Tour and see what appeals to you. Where are you flying out of?

We are going to Germany because we are going to Edelweiss and have some time before arriving there. We have reviewed Rick Steves itineraries. We would like to hear from people that have good ideas and not people that are questioning what we are doing. If you don't have any good answers then move on. Thank you.

Without getting too detailed, I will gladly nominate two base towns for your careful consideration.

Small-town base for 5-6 days: Boppard - on the Rhine, marvelous rail connections to the things you want to see - castles, churches, museums. Rails on both river banks connect all the small wine towns. The Middle Rhine offers Germany's most scenic train ride and very good day cruises as well. Access to the Mosel River towns and castles is also by regional train (extra bus ride for Burg Eltz, however.)

Big-town base for 5-6 days: Nuremberg - Yes, the WW-II-obsessed go here, but there is absolutely no reason to think of present-day Nuremberg as a "WW-II" city. It is a charming, walkable city full of nice places to eat and drink, fine churches and a variety of museums. Imperial Castle is right in town. Marvelous rail connections for day trips to Bayreuth, Bamberg, Regensburg, and half a dozen other fine places.

Pat was not questioning what you are doing, IMO. You did provide your interests (helpful) but your question is indeed quite broad since you didn't name a single place you intend to go. "Germany" is broad on the Germany forum. Asking for an itinerary is also too broad. Pat is a poster who always has good suggestions - most of the volunteers here would want additional information about what you have in mind before making suggestions, I think. I'm just brasher than most.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/san-diego-to-munich-just-getting-there-part-1

I was attempting to determine if my Trip Report would be of interest.
Russ was a great help in my planning.

Russ,
Thank you for your helpful information. I will look at both Boppard and Nuremberg as hubs.

With Frankfurt as a hub, you could visit the Rhein and some of the castles, especially with a day cruise. Easy to do by train from Frankfurt.
Other towns that are with-in an hour by train would be Mainz, Marburg, Limburg, Büdingen, Gelnhausen, Seligenstadt, Idstein, Bad Homburg with the near-by Hessen Park Open Air Museum and the Saalburg Roman fort. If you need help picking out towns, I can tell you why each town is interesting and unique.
A little bit farther would be Heidelberg, Worms, Speyer, or Michelstadt.

Frankfurt itself has some wonderful, medieval churches, especially the Justinus church which is actually even earlier. It is a Carolingen church built in 830. Location is the neighborhood of Höchst which has a small palace, 400 half-timbered houses, and a great farmers market 3 times a week.

Recommend doing a few days in Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area.
Nuremberg is another great choice.

Ms. Jo,
I would love to hear your take on the cities that you mentioned. That would help us narrow down where to go. It seems that Germany has so many cities/towns and it's hard for us to know which ones to consider without knowing more about them. Thank you for your help.

While we are at Edelweiss Lodge, we are taking multiple trips: Neuschwanstein Castle, Berchtesgaden, Oktoberfest in Munich, Mittenwald, Linderhof Palace and Oberammergau, and Zugspitze. We are trying to fit Salzburg in there, but haven't quite figured that out because after Edelweiss we are flying to Brussels.

Frankfurt: a good base for visiting certain satellite towns. Marburg, Büdingen, Gelnhausen, Michelstadt... these are all nice old-world towns to visit if you choose to use Frankfurt as a base town.

Castles: The Middle Rhine Valley cruise takes you past dozens of them. If you are interested in checking them out on a tour or two, you must be choosy. Some are hotels, some are hollowed-out ruins, some are in private hands. Only some are really worth visiting, easy to reach by boat/train, and accessible to the public:

*Marksburg (never-destroyed, completely intact castle in Braubach)
*Rheinfels (ruins in St Goar
*Ehrenbreitstein (fortress in Koblenz)

Rhine Castle Map: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php

The Mosel Valley has lots of castles too. Accessible to the public are these two in the Cochem area:

*Burg Eltz (Rick Steves' favorite in all of Europe)
*Reichsburg (in the town of Cochem)

If you stay in Frankfurt, you will be at least two hours by train from the nearest of these castles (Rheinfels, Marksburg, Ehrenbreitstein) and much further from the others.

If you stay in Boppard, you will be in a fine location geographically for visiting all these castles with much shorter journeys. You'll be sandwiched in between Rheinfels, Marksburg and Ehrenbreitstein, and the train will get you to the Mosel Valley castles in a reasonable time period. Plus you'll be surrounded by attractive old-world wine towns on both rivers; a few examples:

Bacharach (Rick Steves' fave)
Braubach (very handsome half-timbered homes)

Map of Rhine towns: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/city-cities.php

Map of Rhine railways, ferry crossings, cruise boat docks, with limited trail information:
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php

Mosel villages: Winningen, Cochem, Beilstein and Hatzenport are reasonable outings from Boppard:

https://www.mosel-inside.de/en/travel-guide/mosel-villages.html
Beilstein

So Frankfurt and Boppard are IMHO base towns that cover SEPARATE areas. On a day trip from Frankfurt you can get to the Rhine and do a cruise, and maybe see one town and one castle (probably Rheinfels.) It would be the wrong base for you if you wish to really explore what the Rhine/Mosel Valleys together have to offer. Likewise, Boppard would be the wrong base for you if you wished to see Büdingen or Michelstadt.

I was surprised to discover that Würzburg can be just over an hour (ICE train, according to google anyhow) from Frankfurt as well. I was also surprised to learn Würzburg was over two from Stuttgart. (and yet Frankfurt is just under two.) I guess I don't have a good grasp of German geography yet.

Russ,
Thank you for the great information. We will spend the weekend researching all that you have provided and will update you with our progress (and questions if you are up to more).
Sincerely,
Dawn

I made a second trip to Nuremberg in April and would also suggest it as a base.

If you decide on Frankfurt as a base, make sure you block off one morning for the excellent Frankfurt of Foot walking tour. Many of us on the forum having taken it and give it a thumbs up.

@Wanderbug: Dependable travel schedules between destinations are best found on the DB website:

https://int.bahn.de/en/

Geography is only one of many factors that determine travel times...

Frankfurt >Trier vs. Frankfurt >Munich - hard to believe, looking at this map, but on average, Frankfurt >Munich is a slightly shorter trip.

Thank you Frank.