Route suggestions November Germany Travel

mind you this will be end november when leaving germany

Are you flying in and out of Frankfurt? Is the ticket already purchased?

Stuttgart is on the way to Munich and has lots to see.
FYI: Germany is far north, so it gets dark around 4:00 PM that time of year.
If you want to take pics of old castles, churches, etc your window is from around 0800-1600 daily.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber for medieval cuteness, Nuremburg for the historic city core, Nazi era sites, and lebkuchen, and Freising for Weihenstefan, the oldest brewery in the world. RS guidebooks cover the first two very well.

love some off the route suggestions

Can you be a bit more specific about what you are interested in, and what you have already checked in your guidebook?

By "off the route", do you mean "off the beaten tourist track"? In that case, I certainly wouldn't think Rothenburg ob der Tauber or Nuremberg.

We have been to nuremberg and munich

very interested in history ( loved nuremberg)

good food historical towns
castles and unique museums

City between Frankfurt and Munich: Erfurt

• Off the beaten path for English-speaking tourists
• Very unique museum in the form of Errinerungsort Topf & Söhne, a museum in the administrative building of the Topf & Söhne company, which made (among many other things) the ovens for Auschwitz. Exhibit looks at how "normal" owners (who shielded Jews and others from the Nazis) of a "normal" company became entangled in genocide. Excellent museum with English signage (but original documents in German, of course).
• Other interesting sites/museums
• Gorgeous architecture (largely escaped bombing in WWII)
• Great main square flanked by cathedrals
• Highly-recommended family-owned hotel (not in RS guide) called Hotel Domizil that is adjacent to Domplatz --amazing breakfasts prepared by one of the owners who is also a chef

Frankfurt > Würzburg > Rothenburg > Romantic Road > Munich.
Direct train to Salzburg (2h).
Salzburg > Salzgammergut region > Hallstatt > Vienna.

Note that German Christmas markets generally open November 25 this year. (Salzburg opens November 18.)

IF they open. Who knows.

I wouldn't book a trip this year just to see the Christmas markets... too uncertain IMO. But since you are going to be here at that time anyway, it's certainly worthwhile checking on short notice if and where they are open.

Erfurt also has an exceptional museum in a long-deconsecrated Synagogue, which was overlooked by the Nazis. Nice botanical garden may be closed by November. Consider Quedlinburg also, farther west.

It is unclear whether you actually wish to start in Frankfurt. Why not fly a second segment if necessary to Munich. We once did an open jaw air trip Innsbruck-Salzburg-Munich-Vienna, with trains, very efficient. Remarkable views small commuter jet flight (Austrian) Vienna-Innsbruck.

So ive come up with a 80 percent sure itinerary for

Nov 8-30

fly in Munich-fussen-salzburg-vienna-prague
then either (prague nurnberg or
prague dresden leipzig nurnberg)

rothenberg/rosenberg- strasbourg
to frankfurt fly outr

not sure if this is to much for 22 days

and whether a german rail pass is a good deal?

i am keeping all flexible depending on opening and closings

This is indeed a lot for 3 weeks.
In 3 weeks, I believe that the absolute most you could do (at a fast pace!) is a Munich-Munich (or Frankfurt) loop via Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Nürnberg. Visiting the castles around Füssen from Munich, Salzkammergut from Salzburg, and Rothenburg o.d. T. from Nürnberg.
If you need to fly out of Frankfurt, then I would stop in Würzburg and forget about Rothenburg this time around.
There is definitely no time for Strasbourg or Dresden.

Or, since Dresden really isn't that far from Prague, you could leave out Vienna and do the loop around Dresden instead. Whatever is more important to you. What "Rosenberg" is that are you talking about?

What German rail pass are you looking into? Since you are going to be traveling outside of Germany, make sure you read the fine print and understand what it's valid for. Basically, you're just going to have to do the maths and add up the legs of your trip and compare to your savings with a rail pass.

Whatever happened to your "off the route" and "small towns"?

Small towns seem so many of them and still trying to get a handle
on which appeal to me

been to munich and salzburg and hallstad
but have not done day trips from them

Strong interest in Prague and Vienna

Flying into Munich out of Frankfurt that cant be changed