Traveling Germany while injured - suggestions?

We are not hikers but avid walkers and I feel your loss.

Many small to moderate size German towns have compact "Altstadts" or old town centers. If you can walk moderate amounts with rest periods (cafes, etc.), towns like Regensburg, Würzburg, Bamberg, Nördlingen, Rothenburg, etc. can offer a lot of sights within a limited range. These towns also happen to be my favorites. Get a hotel in the center and listen to your body. Use taxis as a backup.

My last two trips preceded scheduled surgeries. I made compromises.

You have so many places you want to see in Germany, I don't know why you wouldn't go.

Do you need cities that are flat? Berlin is perfect. Perhaps go on a Trabi tour in Berlin for something different. For the Rhein valley, go ahead and take the longest ship ride that you can, going all the way to Boppard from Eltville on the 1st ship of the day. Munich is pretty flat too. I don't usually recommend HoHo buses, but in your case, perhaps it is better? Many cities have velo taxis that you can ride around in. Sort of a rick-shaw.

Are you considering a rental car for a little more door-to-door convenience? Maybe pick up in Berlin and drop in Munich, so the two remaining train or bus rides are direct to/from Prague and you don't have to park in the big cities.

I badly sprained an ankle mid-trip last year. Even being extra careful, I kept tweaking it. Of course, I'm a klutz at the best of times. One thing that bothered me was uneven pavement--cobblestones and the like. I suspect that might be a problem for you, post-surgery. I think Berlin will be relatively good in that regard. You should perhaps skip the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe on this trip, because the footing is intentionally uneven.

I'm not so sure about the medieval towns like Rothenburg. I think I remember cobblestones, but it was decades ago.

I'd look into lake towns where you can do a bit of walking but have the option to move around either by bus or by boat.

Dresden is a museum-rich city. Unfortunately, I don't remember what they did about the pavement when they rebuilt the city core after the war.

Train or bus trips through the Alps will still be lovely, even if you can't go out on the trails. Perhaps that would be too frustrating, though.

You won't be able to hike, but at least if you still want to appreciate the magnificent Alpine views around Berchtesgaden, you can ride a ski lift to the summit of Jenner. Like most mountains with ski lifts, Jenner has a restaurant with an observation deck.

Dresden is not that far from Prague by train (or bus) and once in Dresden, you can take a scenic boat tour on the Elbe river. It does look like some of the websites for this may not be available in English. Here is one that looks tempting: https://www.saechsische-dampfschiffahrt.de (Saxon steamshiptravel). If you google Elbeschiffahrt there are several more websites for tours going up or down the river from Dresden. Both Berlin and Munich are surrounded by lakes that offer sightseeing via boat or ship. In Munich at Marienplatz I have seen the velo bikes that Ms. Jo mentioned. Also, should you need a wheelchair, the German word is "Rollstuhl".

Thank you all for the suggestions. I had surgery and haven't been checking online (darn pain).

I'm 3 weeks out from the trip (and 14 days post-surgery). I'm hoping to not be using crutches at all by the time I'm there, but that's questionable still. So yes -- too much walking in one day or uneven ground are both concerns.

Our usual trips consist of TONS of walking and hiking/cycling almost every day. So this is a big difference for me -- I guess I need to learn to relax more! :)

Why fly into Prague so we're going to try to explore there for sure. Berlin sounds like its still a great place to go. And Dresden (can anyone verify the street/sidewalk quality?)

And I think we'll go to the Rhine valley and do a boat cruise. Other than that, we aren't sure...

We're thinking of taking Berchtesgaden out of the plan as its a bit out of the way AND we can't hike. So it looks like we could do a cable car ride and maybe a lake boat trip...but not sure that's worth the trip there?? (i'm open to being contradicted on this!)

Does anyone have thoughts on the Black Forest -- much to see without hiking?

We were planning on renting a car, so that might help some. But if we do a boat cruise on the Rhine, we end up far from where we parked, right? Hmm...

We're big into beer and wine -- my husband brews beer. So I am sure we can find plenty of places to enjoy in the evenings. :)

Thanks again!

In Berlin, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has sloping paths in many places, but the pavement itself is pretty smooth. The memorial itself is at street level and open, but there are some stairs to the ticket office, I think, if you want to visit exhibits.

I am SO sorry to hear this...I give you kudos for trying to salvage your trip and for still going!
In Prague you can hop onto Tram 22 and see a lot without taking a step! It winds through some of the best parts of the city. If you choose to get off and explore it's not far to walk and will be relatively flat, even up on Castle Hill provided you get off at the right stop!
If you're feeling brave and are cautious you might consider a Segway tour...although I've seen plenty of people crash and it might be too much of a risk post-op!
Since walking is an issue you might consider renting a car outside of the city and driving out into the countryside. We spent a month just outside of Prague last summer and were amazed at how beautiful the rolling wheat fields and small villages in the CR are. You can do that without walking!