Tough decision in Bavaria.. your opinion wanted !

I was there last February, and while the bridge is a great vantage point, going to the base of the castle was also great. There is a view from the side, which we took our group photo and its still most impressive. You don't have to take the tour of Neuschwanstein as they won't allow you to take photos anyway. If you've never been to Neuschwanstein and can squeeze it in early, I'd do that.

Regardless, it'll be a great trip.

We did a group tour to Neuschwanstein from Munich and that company took us to Mount Tegelberg as a first stop. There is a cable car that takes you up and there are great views of the surrounding area, including Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. They are a few kilometers away, so the pictures are not as close up as they would be from Marienbrucke, but a good zoom on the camera still gets a pretty good picture.

Have you considered walking the Highline 179 with the Ehrenberg Castle ruins or traveling to the top of the Zugspitze? We found those much better than the time we spent at the castles.

I would suggest you stick with your original plan. Although the driving time for both your plans are roughly the same, when you factor in time to find parking in Nuremberg and Bamberg you are adding quite a bit more time. It wouldn't be my first choice of route.

If Neuschwanstein is what you want to see, I don't think Marienbrucke being closed will affect your experience too much. Another great view of the Neuschwanstein is from St. Colomon church just outside Schwangau (follow Colomanstrasse (ST2016) from the castle parking lot towards Schwangau for 2.5km, St. Colomon will be on the left). It is from the valley floor, though, not above the castle. Even just the walk up to the castle was fun and we got some good pictures from Hohenschwangau and from a different perspective at the base of the castle.

There are a lot of other great places to stop between Munich, Schwangau and Rothenburg. A visit to Oberammergau, Ettal Monastery, Wieskirche or Linderhof Castle (which, in my opinion, is the better castle experience both inside and out) between Munich and Schwangau would not be too far out of your way. Also just off your route to Schwangau is Hohen-Peissenberg, with incredible panoramic views of the Alps from the top of the hill (only go if it is clear, though).

I'm not as familiar with the portion of your route between Schwangau and Ulm, so others can make recommendations there.

North of Ulm are the towns of Nordlingen and Dinkelsbuhl and a number of other 'romantic' towns. We loved Dinkelsbuhl even more than Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It felt more quaint and maybe even a little more authentic to us and made a nice contrast to Rothenburg. For us, Nordlingen wasn't as special as others have found it, although the walk around the town walls was fun.

If you feel like driving about 1/2 an hour out of your way, we really enjoyed our visit to Schwabisch Hall, just southwest of Rothenburg.

I just spent two nights in Nurnberg and now I am in Bamberg, both are great. I would give some time to the Documentation Center-Rally Grounds in Nurnberg. I spent three+ hours at the Nurnberg Courtroom/Museum as well.

I just wanted to pop in and congratulate you on your win, you straight-up 'Silly' Person ;-)

Enjoy the Fest!

HAHAHAHA Eileen !! I was wondering who'd be the first to notice/comment. : )

Some truly excellent info here, thank you all so much. However, it seems both attractions are great, so I guess I can't lose either way, but I'm still not much closer to deciding - hahaha.