Recommendations for my hope this yearly finally happens Germany trip

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/san-diego-to-munich-just-getting-there-part-1 to 7

Hope the attached Trip Report can be helpful, as we just returned from a great trip to the area .

Some photo ideas-
Regensburg - I got some great pix of the town reflecting in the Danube River, taken from the old Stone Bridge, and didn't realize one can climb the bridge tower. The Cathedral spheres are under renovation, so no good photos there.
N'stein , Fussen- skip it. St. Mary's Bridge has been closed, and that's where many of the great pix are taken. The Palace itself and the surroundings are very crowded and commercial. There's just too many other beautiful places.

Berchtesgaden, Konigsee- absolutely beautiful. We took the boat rode out to St. Bartholomew Island, but I'd suggest taking the longer ride to Salet. The water is clear and beautiful, reflecting the Alps, and some of my best shots caught the water's reflections in the wake of the boat. Can't decide which one is the best to print.

Salzburg is beautiful anytime, and I'd suggest an evening pix of the city from the Fortress. Of course the Fortress is photogenic from several angles, from the river, from Mirabell Gardens, from the Royal Horse Bath.

Rothenburg, one of my guilty pleasures. I've been there three times and will return. Hopefully the Town Hall will re-open the Tower, from which one has the best views of the area. Of course, there's sunset from the Castle Garden, and just great scenery, IMHO, everywhere else, especially in the peace of the mornings and evenings.

Have a wonderful trip!

I spent a week in the Salzburg area and had plenty to do, so 5 nights to see all those things you mention in the Bavarian Alps is not nearly enough. And they are pretty spread out.

Hallstatt and the salt mines are a full day. Konigsee and Eagles Nest are a full day (preferably a sunny day for spectacular views). Salzburg is definitely worth it. So there’s 3 full days already. The area just south of Salzburg, around Werfen, is gorgeous. Great fortress and ice caves in Werfen.

Mittenwald is beautiful also. It’s easier to get to by car - 2.5 hours from Salzburg. How are you traveling?

@pat, Thank you so much for the amazing recommendations. I will now have to check Regensburg.

I heard St Mary's bridge might be open later this year. Any idea where to check for opening? Thanks so much for sharing your trip report! It gave me many ideas.

@travel4fun, Yup that was exactly my question. Is it worth it to go to Salzburg only for a day trip? or better to skip it this time and spend more time on it for whenever I return? I will look into Werfen.

I definitely was planning to rent a car, seems harder to move around those places by train.

Munich 4nights... The first and the last day would be traveling so 3
days.

Nuremberg > Munich takes about 1 hour by train. Munich > Salzburg takes 1.5 - 1.75 hrs.

So I think you have a bit more than 3 days there with your 4 nights.

Any suggestions for itinerary here? Would love to see the following
Zugspitze, Lake Eisbee, Linderhob castle, Neuschwaisten, Hohens....,
Partnatch Gorge, Mittenwald, Halstatt, Lake Konigsee, Eagle's nest,
salt mines and maybe Salzburg if worth it visiting for a day.

I'd be looking at ways to ADD days for all those things you are considering in the Alps (and for things you are SKIPPING there too, including Hohenwerfen castle and the Eisriesenwelt in Werfen.) Stealing a day from Munich looks pretty easy.

Salzburg is worth at least a day. On your last day in Munich you could travel to Salzburg in the evening without compromising a full day (the next day) for this great city.

Day 1: travel to Munich, drop bags, day trip to Dachau
Day 2: O'fest
Day 3: Lv. bags at hotel front desk or in station locker after breakfast. All day for Munich sights; evening train to Salzburg

Nurnberg area 4 nights

Bamberg is on the Berlin > Nuremberg train route. Save time here too... Rather than backtracking to Bamberg on day trip from N'berg, you could make Bamberg a stopover on your way to N'berg. Stow bags in a Bamberg station locker while you sightsee. When ticketing, specify the final Bamberg > N'berg segment as a regional train trip ("only local transport") to gain a flexible departure time from Bamberg.

@russ thanks so much. That's a great idea. I'll cut Munich a day and put it in the Alps. Any thoughts about taking a day from Berlin and adding it to the Alps? Also, I wasn't planning to make Salzburg a base but instead Berchtesgarden, would that be a good idea?

Great idea about stopping at Bamberg first on the way to Nurmberg. @Russ, I know you like Regensberg a lot, is the town itself very different from Bamberg, Nurnberg and Rothemberg? (i know a lot of people are not fans of Rothenberg, but it's definitely where my wife wants to go)

My suggestion for Königssee and photography: Arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the first boat's departure so you can get a ticket on the first boat. Go all the way to the Salet stop (around 55 minutes). Walk the short distance to Obersee for a great photo opportunity with a small boat house on Obersee (a small lake) with Röthbach Waterfall in the distance. Hike around the right side of Obersee to the other end of the lake for another great photo op with or without another boat house -- often you will get perfect reflections of the surrounding mountains in Obersee. Hike to Röthbach Waterfall for nice pictures of a glorious alpine meadow with one of the highest waterfalls in Germany. Röthbach Waterfall is about 1.5 hours from the boat dock when doing a straight hike. If you wait until later to go to Obersee, there will be all kinds of tourists uglying up the view of Obersee.

Again, love Rothenburg - one of the best preserved [a bit restored] Middle Age towns in all of Germany, [per many guidebooks.] Regensburg is a much smaller version of Rothenburg-not the same, IMHO.
Staying in Berchtesgaden would be heaven! I'll definitely do that for the next trip.

@dave, that sounds amazing! I will definitely do that thank you so much. I wonder if the hike is doable with our 2 year old.

Thanks so much @pat. Definitely spending at least a night there.

I wasn't planning to make Salzburg a base but instead Berchtesgarden, would that be a good idea?

Yes.
Salzburg is more central and faster to get to by train than B'gaden. Salzburg > Hallstatt is far enough already without attempting Berchtesgaden > Hallstatt. And Salzburg > B'gaden is a quick and easy day trip.

With a Salzburg base you might want to postpone renting the car until you've finished with B'gaden, Salzburg, and the rest of Austria. After that, the train ride from Salzburg > Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a simple one as well, actually... cheap ride with one change of train in Munich. And Mittenwald is close to G-P and on the same train route as G-P, so also super easy by train. Where the CAR may come in handy is Garmisch > Linderhof, Füssen, the Zugspitze, Eibsee, Neuschwanstein. Perhaps you could get by with just 2 days of car rental, picking up and dropping in Garmisch. Then take the train to Munich and/or Munich airport, assuming that's where you will ultimately land. (Or maybe "take off" is a better term.)

The hike around Obersee would be hard to pull off with a 2-year-old unless you can strap him on your back. There‘s a bit of an ascent/descent on some rocky terrain. There is also a bit of an ascent to get to the waterfall from Obersee. It‘s not something you would want to do in a stroller, though the walk from the Salet stop to Obersee would be easy to do with a 2-year-old — that path is very flat and easy.

@russ, thanks so much for the tips. Any disadvantages of getting a car in Munich and returning it there before coming back? I feel i would lose a lot of time in trains/buses between Salzburg and Halstatt or Berchtesgaden. Also, I liked the flexibility of stopping where i wanted with photos.

@thanks, I might just go myself for the hike and come back.