Next Stop after Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

If you are in the Rothenburg o.d.T. area, you could visit the Castle of Schillingsfürst, which also has a Falconry.
http://www.falkenhof-schillingsfuerst.de/

The city of Ansbach nearby is worth a visit, too. It has a Renaissance palace and Baroque garden. I would do all this before going to Rothenburg because the latter is much more romantic and silent in the evening.

You could also spend a couple of days in Wurzburg which is an easy train ride from R'burg and also has good train connections to F'furt and Cologne.

If you stay in Rothenburg, which is on the Romantic Road, you are already on the north end of it. I would not try to tour it all the way to the south end (Füssen) from there. However, there are a few towns nearby that are worth seeing. One of these is Dinkelsbühl, another is Nördlingen. Both are walled cities.

The Romantic Road Coach leaves from Schrannenplatz, in Rothenburg at 13:05, stops in Dinkelsbühl for a half hour look-around and get to Nördlingen at 15:25. I would book just that part of the Romantic Road Coach tour and spend the night in Nördlingen. There are also local buses between Rothenburg and Nördlingen that would allow you to spend more time in Dinkelsbühl. The next morning, leave your bags at the hotel and take the train 15 minutes south to Harburg and tour the castle there. Come back to Nördlingen, pick up your bags and go to Augsburg via Donauwörth. From Augsburg you can get to Stuttgart and Mannheim and on to the Rhein.

Thanks everyone for some very good options. Lee, I did see that R'burg is at the top end of the Romantic Road and thought of maybe doing that on the way up from Munich but not sure I want to be on a bus for that long. I think taking the train to R'burg gets us there faster and then day tripping or staying at one of the above suggestions is will be more our speed. Thanks so much!

If you are going by train, you have to switch trains in Ansbach anyways, so it's a good place to make a stop and look around.

If I am reading right, you are looking for a 3 days north of Rothenburg - one being Cologne - before leaving from Frankfurt. My suggestion would be Würzburg, Cologne (Köln) and Mainz in that order.

Mainz has good connections to the Frankfurt Airport and would make a good last stop. The cathedral and the Chagall stained glass windows in Stephanskirche (Stephan's church) make Mainz worthwhile.

Würzburg is one of my favorite towns in Germany both for the archbishops Residenz and his castle across the Main River. It is fairly short train ride from Rothenburg.

I was actually thinking about Würzburg as a sleepover the last night instead of Cologne and doing two nights along the Rhine with day trips (like Cologne) instead. Seems like a nice way to 'wind down' before heading back to the States... Thanks so much to everyone for your input; Safe Travels to Everyone!

Cheers

If you want to do the Romantic Road on the way to Rothenburg, go by train to Nördlingen via Donauwörth and take a local bus to Dinkelsbühl, then on to Rothenburg by bus.

Thanks Lee for the suggestion on the Romantic Road option. As it seems I'll be in the Rhine River area my last leg, does anyone know of any actual wineries they would recommend. Most likely will be staying a night in Bacharach if we do stay over in that area. Thanks everyone.

"As it seems I'll be in the Rhine River area my last leg, does anyone know of any actual wineries they would recommend. Most likely will be staying a night in Bacharach ..."

The Middle Rhine Valley is a good choice. Your stay will be post-weinfest-season, unfortunately (Boppard's wine fest ends the season on Oct. 2.)

Boppard, however, has a good number of wineries in town, and is home to the largest single vineyard in the Rhine Valley - the Bopparder Hamm - which you can read about HERE. The page also has information on Boppard's many wineries.

Bacharach is indeed Rick's darling but I've always been more impressed by Boppard, which has a chairlift ride to a footpath that quickly delivers you to the scenic Vierseenblick lookout and the nearby Gedeonseck terrace. Boppard also has a handsome waterfront promenade, an attractive old town that, unlike Bacharach's, is sheltered from the heavy and notorious railway noise, a ferry for exploring the other side of the river (which puts you only a few train minutes from Braubach, home of Marksburg, the Rhine's best medieval castle tour,) and a larger variety of eateries, hotels, and wineries than Bacharach or the other towns (with the exception of touristy Ruedesheim.)

Staying in Boppard also shaves time off any day trip you might make over to the Mosel River.

Thanks Russ; I'll look into Boppard.

The ferry across the river in Boppard lets you off in the middle of nowhere - there is nothing there but a small parking lot. However, if you walk downriver along the highway about a km, you'll be in the little town of Filsen, and there is a station there (more like a bus stop, really) where you can catch the train to Braubach. When you come into Filsen, go away from the river a couple of blocks until you come to the railroad tracks and follow them to the station.

"...three nights left on our itinerary before departing from Frankfurt."

Depending on your departure time you may or may not be able to spend your final night in Boppard. There are a few direct regional trains that travel to FRA in the morning (1.25 - 1.5 hours) and a direct IC train at 5:44 a.m which gets you there in one hour. Check the DB schedule prior to booking that final night. If you must spend the night closer, Mainz is a good choice with many departures throughout the morning.

Outings: Local day passes and 3-day passes good for trains, buses, and some ferry crossings are explained below; the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket day pass is discussed as well and covers a wider swath of territory then the VRM day passes (and costs a little more.)

http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/leisure-ticket/

Lee's description of the river crossing at Boppard is right on. This photo shows Boppard on the left bank, Filsen further downstream on the right, and the right-bank ferry landing just across from Boppard:

http://www.fotos-aus-der-luft.de/luftbild/26704-2/Boppard_02

Thanks Russ and Lee, I'm actually thinking of staying my last night in either Wurzburg or Cologne before flying out of Frankfurt (have an afternoon flight).
Also, I'll be in Munich, and heading out of, on October 3rd, which I heard is a National Holiday in Germany; will I have any trouble with major sights and public transportation on that day? I'm only using public transportation to get around while in Germany (no rental car).
Thanks again...