Itinerary in June with 16 year old granddaugher

I miss a question or what do you ask for.

Heads up: At your travel time European Soccer Championship will take place in Germany. Expect some full places and / or transports - maybe join a public viewing. Be aware of pickpockets in crowds.

Ensure you have IDP, not only your driver's license; read validity of foreign driving licences in Germany.

Too less time left for Berlin - shorten time in Bavaria.

Bacharach is a huge detour instead of giving back the car in Bamberg or Nuremberg (castle) and taking a direct train to Berlin. Close to Nuremberg is Herzogenaurach with half-timbered houses and outlet shops of Nike, Adidas, Puma and others.

We like outdoor activities, technology, history

In Berlin add a few from classic top 10 sights and Technology Museum.

Will not eat out at restaurants in the evening.

Why? All safe areas and in June you will have long day lights. Enjoy an evening boat tour on river Spree or a walk at East Side Gallery incl. Wow Gallery or take a drink at James-Simon-Park. Hot tip at your travel dates is 48 hours Neukölln.

I also don’t understand not eating in restaurants at night since you often will be staying in hotels.
Trying local foods is our favorite part of foreign travel.

Why would you not eat out in restaurants in the evening? First of all, it is light out until after 22:00 at night. The cafes will be filled with people. I cannot imagine not wanting to be part of the lively, wonderful evenings in Germany? It is the best part of being here!

Consider doing some real walking tours rather than an audio guide. They are not expensive, you can ask questions of your guides and get up to date information about the city you are in. Berlin especially should have an up to date walking tour, not just an audio guide.

For your river cruise on the Rhein, I do hope you are not following the RS suggestion to cruise from Bacharach to St. Goar? This would mean you miss 3/4ths of the castles on the Rhein. Take the train down to Bingen and begin there.

In Bacharach eat at the Cafe Bistro Noy

Thank you for your suggestions.

Re: tours, we are planning 3 live tours--Third Reich tour in Munich, BMW Factory Tours, Night Watchman tour. in Rothenburg. Will consider recommendation to take one in Berlin. The reason for using RS audio tours is for flexibility so that we are getting an overview of some areas, and still have time to visit museums, parks, tourist sights. We could use walking tours that are laid out in many guidebooks.

I realize that 2 days in Berlin is not enough, but I almost didn't include it at all, After much deliberation about what to include in our itinerary, and what to cut out, and looking at travel time to each place, I'm happy with the general plan, but looking for recommendations on what to see along the way, or at a particular destination. Will look into the Technology museum in Berlin--plan to see the one in Munich, so wasn't sure how similar this would be, given that we only have 2 days in Berlin.

Re: Rhine Tour--I have read several suggestions that look something like the following--Is this what you had in mind?

Rheinfels Castle tour (opens 9 am)
Train to Bingen Rhein Stadt
Cruise back to St. Goar

Re: Zugspritz--Weather permitting, we will go on the way from Berchestgaden to Fussen. This is one of the places my granddaughter most wants to go. I booked the 9:55 tour of Neuchwanstein so that it would give us the rest of the day to do other things, including possibly going back to the Zugspritz. I realize the distance involved and may not do it in the end. Fingers crossed for good weather the day before.

You have a ton of place names in this plan, and you have done well most of the spellings, but German place names aren't so simple and do not typically get auto-corrected. It seems to me like you might have studied German previously... So below are the proper spellings for the ones that are giving you trouble.

Zugspritz - there is no "R" - Zugspitze
Koenigsee - there are two "S's" - Koenigssee
Rheinsfeld - no "D" - Rheinfels

It's a kind of strange thing... I have noticed that these specific names are often misspelled, and almost always misspelled in exactly the same way. It's perhaps some sort of German-learner's bugaboo whereby a spelling "pattern" gets imposed on words/names that are new to the learner.

I've been to Berlin and think 2 days is enough-I personally think it has a dark vibe. You're already seeing WWII sights in Munich. I think you've chosen a good itinerary that your granddaughter will really enjoy.

Rhine Cruise: Agree with Jo. I don't understand how the flawed advice to cruise only between Bacharach and St. Goar ever reached the pages of a guidebook. Take the train to Bingen if it's only the cruise and Rheinfels that you wish to do. Take the train back to Bacharach after Rheinfels.

6/26, 6/27: Because you are not using the car for anything on the Rhine, it seems pointless to keep it until June 28. I would drive it to Frankfurt on the morning of the 26th, drop it, and catch the train to Bacharach (roughly €30/2 if you drop at FRA airport terminal on an RMV ticket.) Then ticket yourselves not from Frankfurt to Berlin but from Bacharach to Berlin.

Your time is deficient not only in Berlin but on the Rhine as well. Suggestion: do your cruise on the 26th as part of your journey to Bacharach.

• On the 26th, walk the Rothenburg wall, drive to Frankfurt, then take the train from Frankfurt to the Bingen Rhein Stadt station (where your cruise begins.) Board the 16:30 cruise to St. Goar (17:55.) This is the popular Goethe Paddlewheel ship:

https://www.k-d.com/en/charter-service/charter-request/charter-contact-thank-you/the-fleet/rms-goethe/

• Enjoy the riverfront views, then catch the train from St. Goar to Bacharach (only 10 minutes, €11/2) whenever you are ready.

This strategy leaves you with a full day on the 27th to explore other places on the Rhine. Visit Rheinfels if you wish. Or skip it and visit either Burg Eltz or Marksburg Castle - both are completely intact medieval castles. Or visit Rüdesheim and do the cable-car lift there. It would in fact be possible to combine a visit to Rüdesheim plus a tour of Marksburg castle into a single day as they are both on the same side of the river with direct train connections between them.

It appears from two of the tours you plan to take that there is an interest in WWII. Before you go, visit a site named thirdrecihruins.com. It has many photos of the places you are going that were taken at the end of the war. It then has photos of the same places taken in more modern times. Quite an interesting contrast to many of them. You can eve print out some of them on plain paper and make comparisons of your own when you are there.