Itinerary Check - Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Munich

It's clear that minutes matter in your case, so I'll provide a few reality-check comments... Whichever departure from FRA airport you are planning on...

• you should not be counting on any departure that is less than 60 minutes after your scheduled flight arrival. Getting to the platform for boarding at either of the FRA airport train stations can take longer than that, and of course flight delays lengthen that time as well.

• there is no ICE train on the route to Würzburg that is fast enough to get there in 60 minutes. Travel time will be 90 minutes minimum.

• Non-refundable saver fares are forfeited if the train out of FRA that you've scheduled with this ticket is missed; plan on getting the more flex-fare ticket, which covers you on the same route no matter what hour you use it.

• 33% of all ICE and other long-distance German trains arrived more than 5 minutes late to their destinations in February. A quick turn-around is unlikely in May.

Still need to fill in a lot of restaurants. I could use some more low-mid price ones, I feel like a lot I see recommended are high
priced options and we can't do that every night :)

In Würzburg, the upper-floor Galeria restaurant/cafeteria was for us a price-conscious and clean place with a nice variety of good food options and with excellent views from the windows overlooking the Marktplatz.

Take 2 trains (about 2 hours) to Nuremburg

By train you will need 3 trains. Your first change of train comes in Steinach, the second in Ansbach.

The first "train" in the two-vehicle options to Nuremberg is the bus to Dombühl. From there, the S-Bahn takes you directly to Nuremberg via Ansbach - but there is no change in Ansbach. Just stay on the S-Bahn until Nuremberg.

...do you think it is too much to do the Residenz and the Fortress in one day?

I lived in W'burg at one time, and the answer is "no". Even if you spend half a day at the Residenz (easy to do), you should have plenty of time to visit the fortress. At your age, there should not be a problem getting tired out. If for any reason you find you need to eliminate one or the other, eliminate the fortress. The view of it from town is better than the view of town from the fortress -- just my opinion. Almost forgot, be sure you do not miss the small chaple at one end of the Residenz, and it's easy to do. It leaves a lot of people speechless.

With regard to eating, if you are there on a market day, try a Wurzburger wurst on a brochen with mustard. Wish I had one now.

Thanks for the reality check Russ, lol. This is exactly the top of info I was hoping for, I did have a feeling I was being optimistic, but I was comparing to Japan which has ridiculously efficient public transportation and we are only doing carry-ones so no going to the luggage carousel. 

And thanks TC, I'll definitely do that! I love any kind of street food!

My $0.02. In Wurzburg you can do both the Residenz and the Fortress in one day. But make the Residenz the priority. You also want to look at taking the bus up to the Fortress, and it can be a hours walk, all uphill. The bus if much faster. And you want to be at the fort in the evenings, as the light is great and you have very good views across the city. There's a lot of construction at the Fortress, and you want to check ahead and get the times for the tours as they will get you into places you otherwise can't reach.

In RodT try to get up and out on the walls before 10am, as that's when the tour busses start to arrive.

In Nuremberg there's a good place to get your Schweinebraten at the Augustiner Zur Schranke, on the small plaza with the rabbit, outside the Albrect Durer House. You can't miss it. It's run by the Augustiner Brewery, and the prices are fair. The beer is good. https://www.augustiner-nuernberg.de/
One of my favorite places to eat in Nuremberg is the Trodelstuben, which is a wine bar on the point of the Trodelmarkt island. I've been going there for 30 years. They serve a Frankonian sauerbraten. https://www.restaurant-troedelstuben.de/
If you want street food in Nuremberg you'll find it everywhere as the open air market overflows the main plaza around Lorenzkirche. I usually get my fruit and brats from these guys as it's cheaper than the sit down places.
Do walk along the Pegnitz and up to the castle after dark. The lighting is spectacular. It's one of the best cities for night time photos I've found.

In Munich I prefer the Residence to Schloss Nyphenburg, but only if you include the English Gardens. For me the big attraction at Nymphenburg is the gardens. But, if the husband has had his fill of stuff like that, send him to the Deutsches Museum, which is all about how to build anything from roads to spaceships, or the Hunting and Fishing Museum.

We did this same trip for our honeymoon 10 years ago, and will be repeating (minus Nuremburg) later this month for our anniversary.

I don't think the Residenz and Fortress are too much. As others have mentioned, make the Residenz the priority, and take the bus to the Fortress (such a slog uphill, though a nice walk down). There's definitely less to do at the Fortress, but the highlights are the garden and views of the city.

Rothenburg is wonderful in the morning and evenings, when the town is quieter after tours have left. The wall walk is wonderful, and definitely take a walk outside the town as well. We enjoyed the Unter den Linden beer garden, which was full of locals and families. Looking forward to bringing our toddler there this time around!

For Munich, my only suggestion is to not bother going up the Peterskirche tower (which you've noted). Last time I was there 5 years ago it was so crowded that you could barely walk up there, and took forever to get back down.

We did a tour to Neuschwanstein (Mike's Bikes), and it was great to not worry about the logistics and getting tickets. The tour also allowed us to see more of the area, including a bike ride through the countryside and a swim in a lake.

Enjoy your trip!

Thank you both for the great suggestions KGC and Rowdo! I had seen on some other thread where people asked about sauerbraten people pointing out that it isn't Bavarian in origin ... but I'm sure I can still get much better sauerbraten in Bavaria than here in Florida! Also, my grandmother was from the Wurzburg area and the reason I want it so much is it was one of my favorite things that she made!

I'm glad it sounds like the Residence and the Fortress in one day will not be a problem, especially since I'm wondering based on Russ's comment now if I'll have time to do everything I have on the first day and might have to move some of that to the third. I know everything can't be planned perfectly but I still try!

Rowdo - congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! I saw a video of the Peterskirche tower and decided it was too likely I'd have a panic attack on those stairs!

I considered the Mike's bike tour too, but haven't been biking much lately and was worried I'd be left behind lol.

Two of your choice locations are on The Romantic Road. I lived in Augsburg for four years and loved visiting the many great places, especially the medieval walled towns that few tourist visit.

Also, Augsburg is over 2000 years old and worth a day to see.
https://www.romanticroadgermany.com

The first visitors were friends and families of the American soldiers stationed in the large bases in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg but the idea of the trail from Würzburg to Füssen soon became wildly popular.

It's not too hard to see the reason for the popularity - despite the modern roots of the idea, the tour combines the historic cities of Würzburg and Augsburg with the three medieval walled towns of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen, and then finishes off with the tourist highlights of Neuschwanstein Castle and the Alps.