Is our Germany itinerary reasonable?

Funny, you have a number of museums, churches and cities for people that like the outdoors.
Sounds reasonable. I think you'd like to have more time on the Rhine and around Fuessen, but it works. By Fuessen is Tegelberg cable car and luge ride, very close to Neuschwanstein. If you don't want to drive into Munich, you can drop the car in Garmisch. If it's a clear day, you may want to try to squeeze in the Zugspitze. Maybe reserve your Neuschwanstein tickets in advance. Beats waiting in line for tickets.

Paul

Take note that the Deutsches Museum main campus on Museuminsel in Munich has just begun a decade-long renovation project. Between now and 2019 substantial portions of the facility and some major exhibits will be closed. If you're interested in specific exhibits, you may want to check the museum's website for status.

Frauenkirche Church with views of Munich

The best city view is from the bell tower of St. Peterskirche, on the south side of Marienplatz.

Thank you both. Zugspitze sounds like something we would definitely enjoy. How could we squeeze it in? Should we drop off car in Garmisch and then get tickets for up the mountain. Took off 2 museums. I also just read about Rick Steve's favorite castle and want to add it (the hike through the woods sounds like fun). Ugh, what else would you recommend we change b/c the 12th seems like a hectic day?

Updated:
July 7/8 [2 days, 2 nights; overnight in Bacharach] arrive at 8am in Frankfurt then take train to Bacharach Rhine River Valley (10 miles to Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar). Cruise the most scenic part of the river (Bacharach to St. Goar). [Maybe bike or walk along the Rhine the next day OR can do Burg Eltz as a day trip (by train through Moselkern, see Rick Steves book- half hour hike through woods up to the castle.]

July 9 [1 day, 1 night in Rothenberg] Pick up car and head to Rothenberg (about 3 hr drive) Explore Rothenberg Ob der Tauber [walk around in the medieval old town, Nightwatchman's tour].

July 10/11 [2 days, 2 nights in Fussen] drive down from Rothenberg on the Autobahn 2.5 hrs. [castles: Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau]. Very close to Neuschwanstein is Tegelberg cable car and luge ride]

July 12/13/14 On the 12th, drive to see Linderhof Palace then Zugspitze then drop car in Garmisch and go to Munich by train [3 days, 3 nights] Munich (things to do/see: English Garden Park, Dachau Concentration Camp [10 miles from Munich], Residenzmuseum, walking tour of the city: Marienplatz – Mary’s Square, bell tower of St. Peterskirche, on the south side of Marienplatz for city views, market: Viktualienmarkt, Schloss Nymphenburg and the park grounds). Train to Salzburg.

"Cruise the most scenic part of the river (Bacharach to St. Goar)."

That's Rick's mantra but I say you are cheating yourselves out of half the great scenery if you don't also include Bingen to Bacharach (in other words, cruise from Bingen to St. Goar.) THIS MAP provides a small indication of the castles you will miss if you start in Bacharach. The part near Bingen might be the most dramatic part of all. (Caution... SPOILER photo HERE.)

The whole section takes only 1.5 hours by boat... If you do only Bacharach St. Goar the cruise is a mere 40 minutes. So you have some choices if you wish to do the whole thing on that first day...

• drop your bags in Bacharach at your hotel, catch a train south to Bingen to board, cruise Bingen-St. Goar, then after the cruise catch a train back to Bacharach from St. Goar... or...
• get off the train w/ your bags prior to Bacharach in Bingen... cruise Bingen-St. Goar w/ your bags past Bacharach to St. Goar, then train back w/ your bags to Bacharach, or...
• get off the train w/ your bags prior to Bacharach in Bingen... cruise Bingen to Bacharach w/ your bags, drop bags at hotel, cruise Bacharach-St. Goar later that day, then train back to Bacharach (have your ticket marked for continued use in this case.)

The other good choice is to stay in St. Goar (which is actually a more scenic part of the river IMO w/ 3 castles visible from town - and makes this whole business simpler.) Then you have either 0 extra trains to take (if you take your bags with you on the cruise from Bingen, you step off in St. Goar and you're "home") or 1 train (that is, if you go to St. Goar first to drop bags, you've got one train to Bingen prior to the cruise.) Since you want to see Rheinfels, staying in St. Goar makes extra good sense.
You could see Rheinfels, Bacharach and Oberwesel on Day 2 (sister towns 10 and 5 minutes respectively south of St. Goar.)

July 9 "Pick up car and head to Rothenberg..."
Where will you pick up? The Rhine villages are shy on rental outlets. You might check Bad Kreuznach, Emmelshausen, or Koblenz, all of which are nearby but will involve a short train ride for at least the driver. Alternatively, take the train to Würzburg (at the northern end of the Romantic Road) and pick up there. If you aren't in a gigantic hurry, 4 adults can travel St. Goar-W'burg Sunday morning using regional trains for 13.50 each using a Weekend Ticket Day pass. Then get your car and make the short drive to R'burg (which doesn't take that long to see, actually.)

Hi,

You could do the Zugspitze in Garmisch, which is on your way from Fuessen to Munich. IF you could rearrange things and get one more night in Fuessen, you could do the Zugspitze from your base in Fuessen. What I mean is the Zugspitze trip from Ehrwald, Austria, which is maybe 40 minutes from Fuessen.

www.zugspitze.at

Both this trip and the Garmisch Zugspitze trip go to the exact same place, top of the Zugspitze, which sits on the Germany/Austria border. At the top you'll walk over the border. The Austrian trip is a single, 20 minute cable car ride to the top. It's also cheaper than the trip in Garmisch, if that matters. The area around Ehrwald, called "The Zugspitze Arena" is very scenic.

With the extra night in Fuessen, you could also visit the Wieskirche, which is over the top ornate inside.

While we loved Burg Eltz, Marksburg Castle on the Rhine is nearly as good, which is a matter of personal preference of course. It sits right on the Rhine and like Burg Eltz, is completely intact from medieval times.

Just a few thoughts.

Paul