itinerary help

This Germany Itinerary demonstrates about the fastest way you can connect the destinations shown; you could substitute destinations, but we would not try to do these faster. Practical details for the listed stops and others are in Rick's Germany book. Are you using that, or looking for more destination suggestions "from scratch"?

I was sort of using that but wanted to start in Amsterdam then through the Rhine, to rothenberg, then the Garmisch are to inns brook ant then Munich. Just wasn't sure if that is doable.

Renee

That's INNSBRUCK.

But consider the distances you're planning to cover. You have 900 km on your plate just from Cologne to your stops and then to Munich. Plus 270 km from A'dam to Cologne for starters. What you're planning is NOT as many km as the Rick Steves itinerary, but the RS trip is already a rushed affair and covers THREE weeks. All that travel eats up time you could be using to "see as much as possible" - which you're more likely to do if you travel a bit less.

I would consider dropping Innsbruck - that's at least 150 km right there. I would also consider using the train throughout. All your destinations are well served by train. You will waste no time gassing up, or making potty stops, or picking up/dropping off a car, or parking it, figuring out how to use the parking ticket dispensers, or getting lost. When you use the train, your time is your own - read, plan, sightsee, people-watch. The train will drop you at or near the center of town, and finding a place to stay within walking distance of the station is pretty simple in these places.

The gas for your planned trip alone will be more than €100. You can get a 3-day rail pass for €189 from the DB website for NL border - Rhine, Rhine - Rothenburg, and Rothenburg - Garmisch. Any additional side trips and the Garmisch - Munich trip can be done for €23/day on a Bayern ticket day pass (trips from R'burg, Garmisch or Munich are all within Bavaria/Bayern) or on other regional day passes (on the Rhine, for example.) Garmisch offers guests a pass for free local transport, by the way.

You may want to includes some places that are on the way to your named destinations. Würzburg, for example, is a great stop on the way to Rothenburg. So is the Middle Rhine Valley (St. Goar, Bacharach) a good stop after Cologne. With a rail pass, you hop off in Würzburg, stow bags in a locker, spend a few hours seeing the highlights, then continue to Rothenburg. In the Middle Rhine Valley, you should probably stay a night or longer - some very cool castles there.

Thank you for suggestions and yes I know how to spell innsbrook. That is auto correct for you. Actually I meant Salzberg anyway. Just a bit Leary of the trains. Most of what i read says the Rhine and Bavaria are best by car. Maybe I should just drop Amsterdam and fly into Frankfurt.

Aha. Autocorrect = Autoscrewup

"Most of what i read says the Rhine and Bavaria are best by car." Best in what way, I wonder? Written mostly by folks who are leery of the train system because they haven't used it.

Between Cologne and Mainz there are two rail lines that hug the river on each side, with both express and local trains that stop at every little hamlet along the way. Modern, comfortable trains run every hour or better on both sides of the river from around 4 am to 11 pm or so. It's an ideal way to see the castles, villages, and river scenery. Munch a sandwich and sip a beer while you take it all in.
Train route on "left" side of Rhine, scenic part between Koblenz and Bingen
Train route on "right" side, scenic part between Koblenz and Rüdesheim
Sleek, modern ICE train at Köln station
Local train with bike car
Double-decker regional trains - great for sightseeing.
train leaving Bacharach

Bavaria has a gigantic a rail system - check THIS MAP for all the places you can go.

DB operates 25,000 daily trains serving nearly 5,700 train stations; 12 million people use the DB transport system every day. If there were something to be suspicious about, this sort of infrastructure and patronage simply would not exist.

With a railpass or tickets, you sign no contracts, pay no parking fees. You just get on and enjoy the ride.

Be leery instead of the car rental agencies you will be dealing with! Check these threads:
"Don't rent a car from Sixt..."
"Rental car scam by Hertz"
"Help! Anyone else victim...?"
Don't rent a car from Thrifty or Dollar...

This looks like a pretty good 2 week trip. If you want to see Amsterdam, definitely fly into there and spend at least 3 nights. You could do Cologne in an afternoon on the way to the middle Rhine. I do not necessarily agree that it is best seen by car. I don't see much but the road when I'm driving, but I see a lot from a train window or a boat deck. The transport is good by train on both sides of the river plus you have the scheduled K-D cruise boats going up and down. Spend 3 nights in this area.
Train to Rothenburg is easy, spend 2 nights there to get a full day plus 2 evenings with all the day-trippers gone. That leaves 6 nights in Munich. You can take day trips from there to Salzburg (correct spelling) and Fuessen on the train using the Bayern Ticket, which gives unlimited rides on local trains in Bavaria for 28 euro total for 2 people from 9 am to 3 am the next day, Unless it is a weekend, then its all day. Salzburg, even though it is in Austria is included in the ticket.
When you get into the fine details of the trip, you may find a car to be more convenient to visit some places you want to see and you can rent one for a day or two.