Munich or Salzburg to begin 20 nights of Germanic fun.

I personally like to travel in a loop or in a line from furthest to closest.

I would come from Switzerland and go straight to Hallstatt and spend at least 2 nights.

Then I would do the following in order, you pick the # of nights: Salzburg, Munich, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Dresden and Berlin.

I think Nuremberg is more than a day trip. A very nice city with a lot of sites to see. Two nights in Rothenburg is plenty. I liked Berlin, but 7 nights may be a lot. The same with 6 nights in Munich may be 2 too many. The thing about the number of nights anywhere is what time do you arrive? Can you see all the sites in those cities on your list in the number of days allocated? I would advise researching those cities thoroughly before figuring your days and nights stay.

All those cities are great to visit. Enjoy your trip.

Well you could have a Biergarten evening in Nürnberg and a river trip on the Elbe towards the Sächsische Schweiz and back from Dresden. Overnights I would suggest. 3n in Rothenburg ob der Tauber (why)? I'll assume travel by train and public transport? From Berlin you might want to venture towards the Seelow Heights and the Oder? In Berlin War Memorial Treptow and Tiergarten (not now with war in Ukraine?)? Obersalzberg from Salzberg? For my taste I would make more time for the Salzburger Seenland and a visit to the Königssee. Beautiful areas.

Dresden as a day trip from Berlin is not too far away.

Planning seven nights in Berlin gives ample time to see the war related sites as you have a deep interest in that.

I suggest seeing Seelow. ....the memorial battlefield site. Take the regional train out to Frankfurt an der Oder, then transfer to the S-Bahn to reach Seelow, sounds a bit circuitous...true.

You could do a day trip to see the memorial site in Torgau an der Elbe where the US troops linked up with the Soviets. There is also the British RAF cemetery in Berlin-Grunewald, as well as the huge Soviet one in Treptow and another in Berlin-Pankow.

Depending how much time you intend to track down these war sites, keep in mind there are numerous ones, German military cemeteries, etc in Potsdam and Berlin.

From Lauterbrunnen you will pass through Zurich.
I like Threadwear's suggestion to go to Halstatt right off the bat. I don't know how you feel about night trains, but there is a Nightjet from Zurich at 8:40 pm that gets to Attnang Pucheim at 5:39 am the next morning with a connection to Halstatt arriving at 7:39. Then work your way back to Salzburg the following day.

Salzburg to Munich by hourly regional train with a Bayern Ticket. Then to Rothenburg with a Bayern Ticket. I think 3 nights in Rothenburg is a bit of overkill, 2 nights should do it. Then you can go to Nuremberg using a VGN Ticket and spend 2 nights there.

You can get from Nuremberg to Berlin in under 3 hours with the ICE Sprinter. 6 nights there should be plenty.

Huge WW2 and Cold War buff.

Me too.

My first major trip to Germany (2016): Berlin 8 nights, Bad Steben 3 nights, Munich 3 nights (+Hallstatt 2 nights and Vienna 1 night)

My second major trip to Germany (2017): Berlin 8 nights, Gengenbach 4 nights, Meersburg 4 nights, Berchtesgaden 5 nights

My third major trip to Germany (2018): Berlin 10 nights

7 nights definitely is not too much time in Berlin for a WW2 and Cold War buff. Plus nightlife. Plus art. Plus outdoor spaces. Plus food.

But that means giving short shrift to Nuremberg, which also has huge WWII connections. Plus art, culture, and outdoor places.

Hi,

Depending on the extent of your interest in WW2 sites (maybe even those connected with WW1 in Berlin too), presumably substantial, you can track down the more esoteric military sites, especially those connected with war history, not just Nazi connected sites.

If you're going to visit Dresden, near that city is a site connected to WW2 located in the small town of Bautzen, not only known in Napoleonic history but also for the singular event in 1945.

Outside of the events connected with the over-all battle for Berlin, the last German tactical offensive was directed at Bautzen.

Thank y'all.

I can always count on you guys forcing me to make tough decisions with all these new sites you bring up. I just got RS 2021 13th Edition Germany guidebook and that will help tremendously in figuring out the # of nights. I really need to lock down the sights in each place to determine the minimum amount of time I need there. There is just SO MUCH to see/do in Germany/Austria. I keep repeating RS mantra to myself, Assume you will return

Re a week in Berlin, I'd rent an apartment in Potsdam. Berlin is spread out, so you are on public transit a lot anyway. Potsdam is an attractive little city - compact, calm, surrounded by lakes, huge royal gardens and palaces. Good restaurants (many ethnic) and cafes everywhere, highly pedestrianized. It's provincial in that BMW in every driveway way. I prefer to take the 20 minute ride into Berlin and return to a yuppie good life oasis for my neighborhood experience, take a day off Berlin and get lost on the endless bike tracks along the lakes.

Berlin, in general, is quite opposite to Potsdam - urban, younger, graffitied, punky, faster paced. It's a great city and I loved staying there up into my early 40's. It's not at all a wrong choice if you vibe with places like Berlin.

And if you are a huge WWII buff, then Berchtesgaden is right in your planned zone, satisfies the history urge and gets you your alpine experience all in one.

Agree with Sam on Rothenburg. Perhaps shave a night off and add it somewhere else, or go to Bamburg or Garmisch?

Hi,

You didn't say specifically but if your interest in WW2 also extends to military sites on WW1, then I heartily suggest two German military places in Berlin.

Go to Berlin-Spandau, went there a few times, a day visits, absolutely an eye-opener on the very first visit, and realised that I should have been here in the Cold War days during my first two visits to (west)Berlin. The U-Bahn takes you to Spandau.

The second site is Berlin-Starnsdorf, a WW1 military cemetery for the German, British and Italian troops.

Choosing where to go and see in Berlin as regards to an interest area is difficult, it's all about which priority comes first. You just may end up extending the stay in Berlin to 7-8 nights. If so, even better.