Itinerary suggestions - Munich area in winter

We would prefer small, locally owned hotels and restaurants, and
travel by train or perhaps rental car while in Europe. Looking for
travel with the cozy, Christmas, wintery ambiance. I'm not sure how to
end the trip. Thinking about ending with a few days in Salzburg and
flying out of Vienna but not sure if this is too much. Open to ideas
and suggestions!

Probably good that you are flexible.

Neither Munich nor Prague is small enough to be cozy. December in Nuremberg or Munich probably doesn't mean "wintery ambiance" if by that you mean snow.

But with 2 weeks you do have time to visit these cities if you wish. Prague is beautiful. Nuremberg is not small but is significantly cozier than the others because of its old-world ambiance and the tangle of narrow streets in the old town zone. It deserves a multi-night stay. You should book it well in advance since N'berg is hugely popular for its Christmas market.

For the atmosphere you seek, you would do well to spend a few nights in the mountains, where snow is a more realistic option. Füssen is a decent choice, but if Salzburg interests you - and it should - then you might consider a stay in the nearby mountain resort area of Berchtesgaden instead. Do a day trip to Salzburg from there.

Neuschwanstein: not worthy of the long day trip from Munich IMHO. It's a half-hour tour with no wandering around the small number of rooms on your own - and not actually a castle.

Vienna: Not "cozy" either, and from Salzburg or Berchtesgaden you are better off flying out of Munich, I think.

If by "3 days" in Prague you mean just spending your first 3 nights there, I think that's very short. It will give you only two full, non-jetlagged days. Prague is touristy (though I don't know what it's like that late in the year) but beautiful. There are a lot more sights than can be seen in two days; I feel there's more to see in Prague than in Munich, and there's more glorious architecture. Pick up a guidebook to identify the places most interesting to you in each city.

A few thoughts on Prague:

For a different sort of experience, I enjoyed the Museum of Communis, but I believe it's privately operated, so it's the sort of place that might not survive the pandemic.

The Municipal House (Obecni Dum) is a drop-dead gorgeous Art Nouveau building. English tours are offered not too many times per day, so that's something to arrange early in your trip if you're interested in seeing it. There's a modest extra charge for photo privileges, which anyone interested in indoor photography should certainly pay; I didn't, and I regretted it.

The Museum of Medieval Art, located in the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia, was quite interesting and blessedly uncrowded even in the middle of the summer.

There are several historic synagogues that can be visited, most of them with good explanatory exhibitions, so they take more time than you be needed if you were just popping in to a building.

I would definitely not try to squeeze everything you've mentioned into two weeks. Vienna is a major city that takes time to appreciate. I'd postpone it till a later trip.

Salzburg to Vienna is a long way to go if you're not that interested in Vienna (which you should be). However, there is the Mauthausen concentration camp between them that might be of interest.

Is your 2-3 days in Munich counting the proposed day trips? Consider Berchtesgaden or Garmisch as (well trod) places to stay that are in the mountains, as opposed to day trips from Munich.

Instead of taking a train from Prague to Munich, consider flying on Lufthansa for $106. Especially since more than one connection may be involved if taking the train. From Munich, you can take a 20-minute train to Dachau.
RSs has a new Prague guidebook coming out this spring. I would check his website in late June to see if it’s available then. His guidebooks do a good job of recommending mom and pop places to stay. You can then pull them up in TripAdvisor and read guest reviews.
My favorite sights in Prague are the Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter and St. Vitus Cathedral. The stain glass at St. Vitus is stupendous.
In Munich, Marienplatz is the main square. From here you can walk to Viktualienmarkt and grab a bite to eat. A good beer hall is Hofbräuhaus that’s also within walking distance. To visit Newschwanstein, I would rent a car for the day.
Nuremburg is a direct 2h train ride from Munich and you can return that night so it makes a decent day trip if you’re only visiting the old town. However, not everyone will agree with me and say you must spend at least one night if not two.
Salzburg is a 1h 30m direct train ride away from Munich. I would make sure I bought RS guidebook and take his town walking tour.

Vienna is a 2h 30m train ride from Salzburg and there’s lots of spectacular museums to visit:
Hofburg Imperial Apartments, Hofburg Treasury, Vienna State Opera, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Kunsthistorisches Museum and Schönbrunn Palace. Furthermore, Bratislava is 1h away by train from Vienna and makes a great day trip. Once again you need RSs AT guidebook to help you see it all. From Vienna you can fly nonstop to New York.

Yes, I agree with AshleyMIA about bundling up. I was in Prague, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna in Nov / Dec and was miserably cold. I also suggest hand and feet warmers and wearing a hat.

As a local, I would say one day in Nuremberg should be enough.
For Munich itself, you don't need more than 2 days but the area around Munich is very beautiful.
I recommend checking out some beautiful lakes near Munich

In Munich, Dec. 2019, we stayed at the likable little Hotel am Markt, just off the Marienplatz & Viktualenmarkt. Terrific location for walking around, comfy enough room, nice staff. Nightly rate with breakfast for two - with unlimited coffee! - was under 200 Euros. This was after Dec. 25th, so no more Xmas markets, but the Viktualienmarkt was bustling, & the centrality was great. Weather was wool-ski-cap-worthy & fairly sunny.

First, you should know it's easier to get to Prague via Nuremberg or Salzburg than via Munich. That should be a consideration.

I love Munich, but in the spring or fall, not in summer (tourists) or winter cold & grey. Don't let that stop you if you have never been there and there's something you specifically want to see, but the days are short and it's not at it's best that time of year.

As has been pointed out Nuremberg is famous for it's Christmas Market and the town is easily worth a day or two in winter. Prague also is better than Munich (prettier, better lighting, and more chance of snow) in December.

The chances of snow tend to vary. Munich & Nuremberg I'd say it's 50/50. Salzburg should be more like 80%+. I don't have enough experience with Prague to say (but I can tell you I've seen 2 feet of snow there in March and it was beautiful).

You'll have people recommend Fussen or Berchdesgaden as places to stay further south, but neither of those towns really have much to offer in winter compared to the summer. I'd recommend Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is lovely in winter (it was the site of the winter Olympics way back when) there's the spas, casino, monasteries, Zugspitz, skiing, etc all reachable by local bus. And this is a very good, cozy, small town that's fun in the winter.

I won't recommend any specific hotels/gasthaus/pension because I can't say what's going to still be in business. I will suggest you look close at boutique hotels for 2-4 day stays over trying to do Air BnB.

If you can't find a place to stay in Nuremberg look at Erlangen. The cities blend together and it's easy to travel between them (they share the same U-Bahn). Erlangen is a university town and can be a lot of fun at night.