Trying to put together several weeks in Germany.

" We both enjoy museums, gardens, old towns where we can wander, scenic rivers to walk along, town festivals, and spending time in cafes watching the world go by. Neither of us enjoy one-night stops and we both love small towns."

You sound like really good candidates for a week on the Mosel River. Find an apartment there and do small day trips by train or by car.

Cochem

Winningen

Trier, museums and sights

Mosel River highlights

Burg Eltz castle

And there's a Mosel wine festival July 10-13 in Traben-Trarbach.

I would look for a guide book other than Rick's. He doesn't cover Germany very well. Maybe others can give you ideas of some books that would be better.

Public transportation is good in Germany, but depending on your itinerary a car might be better. Driving there is easy. I've been to Germany 3 times and used a car for the first 2 trips. I was just in Germany in October and stayed with a relative in Hannover, so we went in her car. The places we visited would have been cumbersome by public transportation. If we had enough time to go to Berlin and Hamburg we would have taken the train. Parking is a pain in the cities.

You don't have to wait for the RS Germany book. Rick Steves really is no authority when it comes to Germany. To illustrate what I mean... here is a map of Germanys highlights according to Baedeker, Germanys most popular travel guide:
http://i.imgur.com/9BcKenL.jpg

One of the most popular destinations is the Baltic coast for example, from Hamburg to the Polish border. Four (Hanseatic) towns are World Heritage sites, there is a 30 miles long beach, a fairytale castle like Neuschwanstein, beautiful nature and 19th century resorts, a car-free island, a steam train that runs through a town, the biggest preserved Nazi building and the place where the V2 was developed, hundreds of lakes etc.. Rick Steves doesn't know this region.
In Central Germany are the Harz mountains, according to Baedeker with more highlights than almost any other region. The towns offer thousands of half-timbered houses, and two of them, Quedlinburg and Goslar, are World Heritage Sites. Quedlinburg is like a second, bigger Rothenburg ob der Tauber. But although Rick is searching for a second RodT he didn't discover Quedlinburg yet. Or what about Görlitz, on the German/Polish border? Probably the best preserved town of Germany, with 4.000 listed buildings. Not in RS Germany anymore. (and places like this, less than 2h away from Berlin, aren't even shown on the Baedeker map)
If you follow RS Germany you will cover a lot of ground, mainly see the Autobahns of Non-Bavaria, and end up somewhere around Munich. You need a book that also knows smaller places like Güstrow, the Emperor Spas, Kriebstein castle or Hiddensee (just some examples around Berlin) if you want to explore the country for up to four weeks. I can't tell you a good guide book, but you should make sure that the places shown on the Baedeker map are mentioned. Without Rügen island or Quedlinburg for example the book is useless.

Germany always amazed this traveler from his first peek into Bavaria, to recent journeys into the vast and little known east of the former GDR. Where to start? Why not american-favored Munich, home to Octoberfest in September (yes a bit odd), to grand industrial museums, striking riverside parks, and very friendly residents. The downtown stretching away from the main rail station fills many needs as tourist hotel center, a shopping mecca, and focus of the famed beer halls and Markethalle food culture. There, as you begin your walk, also sits the very fine DB rail hotel built into Munich station itself. Strolling less then 10 minutes into the pedestrian-only streets takes you to the elaborate city hall with hour-striking clock and moving iron historical figures parading before the clock face. Almost next door is the famed HoffBrauHaus of fine pilsner, bock beer and sausage meals, flavored with singing customers and sturdy wait ladies carrying huge steins and platters. Keep going toward the green river edge to grass and forest-filled parks along side the German Industrial History museum, filled with mechanical and scientific wonders of the 1800's. Other places in Munich are home to auto and rail museums which grew beyond the spaces originally centered here. This is a busy productive city with car factories nearby that can be toured, and recent historic sights where Hitler began his infamous run that nearly destroyed the nation. There is enough in Munich for a week stay, not even touching on the nearby day trip sights of Mad Duke's Castles, sculpture-dominated floral garden parks, easy hiking trails into the hills and challenging mountain treks. That is a tiny possible start, so chose a german guidebook from the library and start making lists of things to your interest. And plan more trips in more years ahead to really start to understand Germany. Happy traveling!

My husband and I did a two week driving tour of Germany two summers ago. We started in Berlin and picked up the car after a 4 day visit. We drove to Weinheim, a small town near Heidelberg, then picked up the Romantic Road in Wurzburg, to Rothenburg, Garmish, Fussen then ended in Munich. we had a GPS for the car which was a big help, but also had physical maps. My husband loved driving the autobahn, especially when I was dozing off and couldn't watch the speedometer! It was one of our best vacations. You can get info at www.romanticroadgermany.com, it is a very comprehensive webpage. We plan on going back again when we retire so we can take a longer trip.

We spent 3 weeks in Germany, all via train. We only visited two places that were IN the RS guidebook. One was Rothenburg ob der Tauber (easy walk from the train station) and Heidelberg (bus into old town from the train). RS guidebook gave one line to Heidelberg and said it was not good. I thought it was magical. In Heidelberg we stayed on the cheap at the IBIS hotel attached to the train station. In Heidelberg there is a tourist info office in the parking lot of the Train Station. One of our biggest finds was Prien am Chiemsee. Walked to the lake from the train station and caught a boat to here http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisch/n_palace/.

Berlin is a city that Rick is quite excited about and covers well in his book. Leipzig, Dresden, and "Lutherland" are logical destinations after Berlin. This earlier forum discussion of Goerlitz might be of interest, too: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/anyone-been-to-goerlitz.

Certainly Berlin and Dresden are good choices. In the north Hamburg is an obvious choice. Lubeck has a great old center. I was in Schlesswig, which is on a very pretty fjord but a quiet small town. Kiel, is a navy center and has some classic northern German architecture. It's likely too stark to attract many tourists. Cologne, Bonn, and Trier are all places I enjoyed visiting. There are tons of towns accessible by either car or train. I'd start by checking out a Michelin guide, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide or even Trip Adviser to get some ideas of things you would like to see.

Transportation from Germany into Denmark isn't easy or inexpensive by car or train. If you choose to end in Copenhagen, the best option is to end in a city like Cologne or Hamburg take a cheap European flight to Copenhagen before flying home out of there.

Wow! This is yet-another time when I'm finding myself marveling at the wonderful resource this forum is for travelers. I've read every word several times and have marked every city mentioned on my map (well, every city that's on the map). First priority for tomorrow is to get a better map. And, some guidebooks. Thanks to Brad for your suggestions for books.

Russ, you won me over with your links to places exactly like what I'm looking for. After reading Martin's suggestions and those of the rest of you, it's obvious we'll have too many places to consider, rather than too few. We'll leave Copenhagen for another trip. Andrea, good thought about not wanting a car in a big city. We'll certainly plan around that.

My thought at this time (although very preliminary) is to stick to the Northern half of Germany. With a good map and guidebooks, I hope I can come up with a route that makes sense. I'm sure I'll be back with many more questions - many thanks for your help so far. Nancy

If you're starting out in Berlin, why not concentrate heavily on Germany's north and east? (EDIT: oops, I see that you already wrote that into your plan). I agree with Martin, Mr. Steves' books are kind of weak in that area of Germany. Go with a more comprehensive source.

For gardens, check out Wörlitzer Park near Dessau... although this isn't a formal French-style garden. More like a large English-style park. There's also Park Sanssouci in Potsdam, which should need no introduction.

I second the recommendation for the Hartz region, especially Quedlinburg and Wernigerode.

If you wanted to add a relaxing stay on the beach, consider a stay in the elegant resort town of Binz on the beautiful island of Rügen. This is a region that looks and feels like a completely different country from what most travelers think of as "German". Rügen is very inconvenient without a car, however.

Consider Franken and Oberpfalz in Bavaria. Nürnberg, Regensburg, The Franken Wine region along the Main River, the Fränkische Schweiz region east of Bamberg, Oberpfälzer Wald region down into the Bayerischer Wald, the Altmühltal. Take a car with a Navi. Stay in small local Gasthaus and hotels. See small towns like Prichsenstadt, Iphofen, Pottenstein, Weiden i.d.OPf, Amberg, Nabburg, Kallmünz, Bad Kötzting etc. This is a less traveled tourist area of Germany other than German tourists. Good Bäckerei and Metzgerei and these areas are still relatively cheap. Beautiful countryside too.

You don't need to wait for Rick's new book - very little will have changed. You can always check on the internet to confirm the info - you would want to do that anyway because of the time lag for publishing.

I like Russ' method of getting an apartment for several days. I've done that on my last two trips, and it has been great.

no single book - or actually any number of books - will provide a thorough look at excellent places to visit. Even the Michelin Green Guide, which I used to think comprehensive, misses so much. I find surfing the web yields too many possibilities for several trips.

I have stuck to public transportation on these trips and don't feel that I miss using a car.

For some excellent trip reports, check out Bavaria Ben's site - www.bensbauernhof.com

Hi,

Since you have not visited Berlin at all, I would suggest centering this 3-4 week time span using Berlin as a radius of not more that 2.5 hrs or so. You can focus on central and eastern Germany, cities as well as small towns, some historical and cultural places.

Stay 4-5 nights in Berlin, choose from Leipzig, Meißen, Dresden, Göttingen, Neuruppin, Celle, Weimar, Minden, Potsdam, Hamburg (doable as day trip from Berlin, unless you plan on 2-3 nights there). Not my style to do "one night stops" either, unless it's planned with accomodations close to the train station.

I don't suggest getting a car, only for visiting villages in the greater Berlin area, these outlying villages in Brandenburg where you drive on Landstraßen (country roads) to reach them. The few I've seen I found fascinating as to the landscape, looks, atmosphere, etc.

Hello Everyone,
I wanted to check back in to say that I spent some time sitting on the floor of Powell's Bookstore going through all of the German guidebooks that they have in stock. I finally ended up with Lonely Planet and Rough Guide because they were the only ones listing all of the cities recommended from posters above. Now, the fun begins! But, first Christmas prep has gotten in the way of my travel planning and there's cleaning, baking, decorating, shopping to do. As soon as I get that under control, I'll get through these two books and, then, get back to you with questions about my findings. You've all given me a great place to start and I'm eager to start planning. Thanks to you all!

Indeed, "Rough Guide Germany" is an excellent source to consult in trip planning. One cannot go wrong with it.

Hello again and Happy New Years to all of you! Christmas is put away for another year and I've gotten back to my travel planning.
After spending time with Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Google Maps, I have a rough itinerary in mind. We'll fly from St. Petersburg to Berlin and spend about three weeks (not a rigid time limit) in Northern Germany. We can use public transportation or rent a car, or a mixture of both. I'm considering the following destinations, going in a loop from Berlin to Berlin.

Berlin - 5 nights, including a day trip to Potsdam.

Dresden - 2 nights.

Leipzig -

Quedlinburg - 2-3 nights. Day trip to Goslar.

Celle -

Tangermunde -

Hamburg - 3 nights.

Lubeck - 2-3 nights.

Schwerin -

Wismar -

Bad Doberan -

Stralsund -

Rugen Island - 2-3 nights.

Berlin - 1 night near airport.

This is still pretty rough and I know that I need to eliminate some of these destinations, but they all look appealing on paper. I'd appreciate any help in refining my itinerary to a more manageable size. I'd also much appreciate advice on when to drive and when it would be best to use public transit.

You won't need a car for the Berlin-Dresden-Leipzig stretch.

For the Hartz, a car may increase your time efficiency, but it certainly isn't indispensible. Quedlinburg would be my preference for lodging as well, but I would prioritize a visit to Wernigerode and, weather permitting, an excursion to the summit of Brocken (you understand why once you see it) over Goslar.

Wouldn't want a car in Hamburg.

Rügen really needs a car to make efficient use of your time. I'd recommend staying in Binz.

Hi,

Among the small places you have some time worthy spots: Stralsund, Celle, Schwerin.

Tom, thanks for your suggestions on car vs. train. I had thought that we could rent a car for the rest of the trip once leaving Berlin, but it looks like it won't be that easy. Hamburg is the problem in my route, but I really want to spend time there. Will have to do some more creative thinking.

Fred, thanks for your thoughts on Stralsund, Celle and Schwerin. Would you consider all of them to merit overnight stays or just a good day trip each?

A couple of days in Strasbourg might add a little variety to your long visit.

Hi,

You're welcome. I would suggest staying in Celle since you "love small towns." See the Garnison-Museum if you're into the history. Celle escaped the war unscathed. Depending on your length of stay in Hamburg, you can do a day trip to Lübeck, or the recommendation I have after visiting Celle en route to Hamburg is to stay in Lüneburg, one of my top favourite towns in Germany. Like Celle it survived the war undamaged, was occupied by the British.

As for day trips from the radius of Hamburg Hbf by train, you have three recommended choices: Lüneburg, Lübeck, and Schwerin, all very doable. Depending on your history interest, I would recommend the Museum in Lüneburg and that in Munster/Oertze (closer to Lüneburg than Celle and easily doable by train).

Stay in Stralsund for a night or two. Should you want to take off on ashort distance day trip, I definitely suggest Greifswald. These towns Lüneburg, Schwerin, Celle, Lübeck, Munster/Oertze are nice places to relax, good small towns to walk in (Laufstädte), get a slower pace, check out their history museums, including the relatively new one in Greifswald.

Hi,

One more thing on fitting in Hamburg: keep in mind which towns you decide on doing the day trips eg. Schwerin from Hamburg and the time set aside for Hamburg. Much as I like staying in Hamburg (conveniently near the Hbf, ie, train station), when the noise, hectic pace, etc gets to me, I stay in Lüneburg instead, prefer that over Lübeck. If your total time for north Germany were at least four weeks with a more involved itinerary of visiting villages as well, then I might suggest a car, but as is taking the train will suffice.

I've tried to take into consideration everyone's suggestions, but also to keep our travels to a reasonable route. My husband wants to drive, so we'll rent a car in Dresden. I would most appreciate any thoughts on this itinerary, especially since neither of has even heard of many of these destinations before posting on this forum :-).

July 4 - Fly from St. Petersburg to Berlin.
5 nights in Berlin, incl. day trip to Potsdam by train.

Train to Dresden.
2 nights in Dresden.
Pick up rental car at end of stay.

Drive to Leipzig for a visit (70 miles).
Drive to Quedlinburg (81 miles).
3 nights in Quedlinburg.

Drive to Wernigerode (19 miles)
2-3 nights in Wernigerode.

Drive to Celle for a visit (73 miles).
Drive to Luneburg (58 miles)
3 nights in Luneburg, incl. day trip to Hamburg.

Drive to Lubeck (72 miles).
2-3 nights in Lubeck.

Drive to Schwerin (42 miles).
2 nights in Schwerin.

Drive to Wismar for a visit (39 miles).
Drive to Bad Doberan for a visit (26 miles).
Drive to Stralsund (76 miles).
2 nights in Stralsund.

Drive to Binz, Rugen Island (28 miles).
3 nights in Binz.

Drive to Berlin Airport (188 miles)
Turn in car
Stay 1 night in hotel near airport.

You need to sit down and have a serious talk with DH as to what motivates him to drive. Is it that he doesn't know that Germany has excellent, efficient, economical public transportation? Is he just more comfortable with a car because that's the only way to get around in this country? Does he think it will be faster? Or is he fostering some hidden Walter Mitty complex?

This trip, with lots of short travel days to places with regional train connections, is perfect for trains. I've looked at the train connections from the Bahn websites vs car travel times and costs from ViaMichelin. Overall, travel times are about equal - one train day would take 53 minutes longer, but 2 car days would be 46 and 54 minutes longer (0f course that's assuming no stops with the car for gas, meals, or potty). However, gas alone would would cost about 210€ vs 265€ for all rail tickets (mostly point to point with 4 Länder tickets and a Quer-durchs-Land ticket). What's the cost to rent a car for 3 weeks?

Interesting thoughts, and I think you've convinced us to travel by train, Lee. Many years ago (and well before we were married), my husband bought a BMW and picked it up at the factory in Germany. He had a great time touring for a couple months before shipping the car (and himself) home. Maybe the memories of that trip were calling to him. We've ridden trains a great deal in Europe, but they have always been longer trips, often with several transfers. I think that he felt that just jumping in a car and taking off would be easier and would give us more freedom, but we weren't thinking about the fact that the route we're looking at would involve short (and, thus, easier) train rides. And, it's hard to ignore the financial reality when you've laid it out so nicely!

Normally, I purchase our train tickets well ahead of time to get the best possible price, but I'm assuming that wouldn't be necessary for this trip. If that's the case, we'd still have some of the freedom with our schedule that the car would give. I did have one response saying that Rugen Island would be difficult without a car and we are interested in staying in Binz. Is that possible by train?

Thank you very much for the thought you've put into this. I so appreciate your input.

Hi,

Good itinerary and choice of towns. Staying 3 nights in Lüneburg is a good choice, esp near the St.John's Church (bei der Johanniskirche) Hotel Stadt Hamburg, a very nice 2 star hotel, across the street from the church, and walkable from the train station. You certainly don't need a car for Lüneburg, only if you want drive south to the Lüneburger Heide area. The 3 nights give the time to explore on foot the town, visit the Museum if you're keen at all on the history covered, and also do the projected day trips. My second day in Germany was spent in Lüneburg as a day trip from Lübeck. Most of the accommodations are well in the Innenstadt.

A few hours in Wismar will do it as a day trip.

If you end up deciding to do this 3-4 week period by train, most of the routes you're taking are served by regional or RE trains. Also, you have your schedule almost set anyway, ie packing as much as the time constraints allow. If you need to transfer, you'll go through Hamburg Hbf. such as going to Schwerin from Hamburg Hbf, which is what I did.

Quedlinburg and Wernigerode are right next to each other. There's no point in changing hotels for such a short trip.

" I did have one response saying that Rugen Island would be difficult without a car and we are interested in staying in Binz. Is that possible by train?" You can certainly get to Binz without a car. But part of the wonder of Rügen is seeing the small hamlets, wide-open vistas and even driving the ancient tree-lined cobbelstone roads that snake around the island.

I am also trying to plan a 2-3 week trip to Germany. I'm looking at RS. But, After reading previous posts I see that Nancy has planned a trip I had never considered. I was looking at southern..Munich, etc. but ending up in Berlin. I naturally want to see the touristy things like castles, but also want to see beautiful countryside, small villages..fairytale Germany. Have only been once as a stop over after Serbia. Stayed in Frankfort with a day trip to Heidleberg. Suggestions appreciated
Debbie
Texas

While in Dresden, you might consider taking a short trip east to the Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland). It's a national park with rock formations like those of Bryce and Zion in this country, only forested. You might be interested in the fortress Königstein, a very imposing fortress built onto one of the flat-topped mesas in the area.

I've concentrated my travel primarily in the southern part of Germany, so I haven't seem much of what you are planning, but I once spent a week in the Harz (Braunlage) and visited Wernigerode as well as went to the top of the Brocken. Wernigerode is in old East Germany, but just over the border from the west. During the cold war, the communist government pumped a lot of money into maintaining Wernigerode so they could take westerners there and show them how nice conditions were in East Germany. Lots of fachwerk buildings as well as an interesting castle.

"...Nancy has planned a trip that I had never considered." My compliments on her choices selected for this itinerary which include places totally off the American tourist/visitor radar. When she arrives in those towns/cities she intends to get to, chances are she will hardly see any Americans at all, most likely she and her husband could very well be the only ones visiting the Alt- and Innenstadt in Wismar, Lüneburg, Schwerin, Stralsund, (where I've yet to see and its Museum), Lübeck, and Celle.

In looking over your itinerary, it was immediately obvious that you have a lot of short legs between towns with regional train connections, ideal for using regional passes (Länder tickets). You will be using tickets in three Länder ticket zones:

1. Although this ticket is sold in Dresden as a Sachsen-Ticket, it is actually valid for travel over the entire 3-Land area (Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thuringen). it would be valid for regional train from Dresden to Leipzig, local transport (S-Bahn, trams, and buses) in the greater Leipzig metro district (MDV), and from there to Quedlinburg. It costs 23€ for the first person and an additional 4€ for co-travelers up to 5 total (27€ for two).
2. Niedersachsen-Ticket. This ticket is valid for travel in the Land of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). It is also valid for travel into the neighboring Land of Hamburg and for travel on trains, trams, and buses in the inner two zones of Hamburg. Again, 27€ (23€ + 4€) for two.
3. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Valid in the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, including Schwerin, Wismar, Bad Doberen, Stralsund, and Binz (2 days). Also 27€ for two.

So, for your travel:

1. Dresden-Quedlinburg: Sachsen-Ticket (27€).
2. Quedlilnburg-Wernigerode: 2 P-P tickets, 20€ for two.
3. Wernigeroade-Celle-Lüneburg: 2 P-P ticket @ 6,10€ each for Vienenburg (1st station in Niedersachsen) plus Niedersachen-Ticket. 12,20€ + 27€.
4. Lüneburg - Hamburg RT: Here I would use the Niedersachsen-Ticket, which would also include local trans in Hamburg. 27€.
5. Lüneburg-Lübeck: spans two Länder. Use P-P tickets @ 15,70€ each. 31,40€.
6. Lübeck-Schwerin: Again, 2 P-P tickets @ 15,70€, or 31,40€.
7. Schwerin-Wismar-Bad Dob.-Stralsund: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Ticket. 27€
8. Stralsund-Binz: 2 P-P @ 12,10€ ea. 24,20€
9. Binz-Berlin: On a weekday, use a Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket for 52€ (44+8). For a weekend day, 44€ with a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket. Could be a few minutes faster with non-refundable, train specific ticket, but would require considerable advance purchase.

So, would cost about 280€, total (I originally figured about 265€, but had left out part of one segment).

When my wife and I visited Germany a couple of years ago we stayed with my brother, so we had him and his car to get around so we hit a lot of small places that I don’t remember the names to. However, there were a couple of places we hit that I do remember that I think will fit what you’re looking for: Cochem and Garmisch. I know these have been mentioned before, but they are nice places. Cochem is nice because it’s on the Mosel River, so lots of little towns and villages to explore. Garmisch is a nice mountain resort town in southern Germany in the Bavarian Alps. Now I know you said you and your husband are not into hiking, but there are some really nice areas that you can pull you can walk without having to do heavy hiking. I know that sounds strange, but my brother pulled the car over a couple times and we just got out and did some walking around while taking in the sights. Garmisch is also near Linderhoff Palace, a great place to visit. As a side note, my wife and I went just after Easter. This meant that it was still a little chilly, not by much, and that the gardens in the Palace and elsewhere hadn’t been planted yet. While it would have been nice to see the gardens, we made up for that loss by having small crowds at the palace. At one point towards the mid to late afternoon, we were one of a few people left at the palace, so we practically had the place to ourselves. I have a great picture of the front of the palace with no one in front. Both Cochem and Garmisch are accessible via train, but it would be better to have a car, or get one while you’re there. Hope this helps. Have fun and let us know what you do.

Steve, I appreciate your suggestions. Now, I'm going to have to plan a second trip to Germany! We've pretty much decided to stick to a more northern area for this trip. After many revisions, here's what we're planning:

July 4 - Fly from St. Petersburg to Berlin. Stay in Berlin 5 nights, making a day trip to Potsdam.

July 9 - Train to Dresden. Stay 2 nights. Take a cruise on the Elbe from Dresden to Rathen; train back to Dresden.

July 11 - Train to Wernigerode. Stay 4 nights. Steam train to The Brocken. Day trip to Quedlinburg.

July 14 - Train to Celle. Stay 2 nights.

July 17 - Train to Luneburg. Stay 3 nights. Day trip to Hamburg

July 20 - Train to Lubeck. Day trip to Schwerin and, maybe, Wismar.

July 22 - Car to Rugen Island (maybe rent it in Straslund), stay in Binz 4 nights.

July 26 - Train to Berlin. Stay 1 night near airport.

July 27 - Fly home.

I'd welcome any thoughts about this itinerary and any suggestions on hotels, restaurants and activities.

Thanks again to all of you for your ideas. I think we could easily spend a couple months happily covering Germany. The more I see as I'm doing my research, the more I wonder why RS doesn't include more of Germany.

Hi,

Your latest revision is excellent for traveling in north Germany using a train and car combination. My compliments on a well thought out choice towns/cities, the length of stay, and how to reach them. Logistically very doable, even Lübeck to Schwerin as a day trip. Without checking one route is through Hamburg, ie, Lübeck to Hamburg, transfer to Schwerin. I did it from Hamburg Hbf to Schwerin.

"...easily spend a couple of months happily covering Germany." Yes, how true, when covering central and northern Germany...Berlin, Hamburg, Goslar, Celle, Dresden, Weimar, Göttingen, Naumburg, Meissen, Neuruppin, Lübeck, Lüneburg, Erfurt, Potsdam, Schleswig, Schwerin, Jena, Bremen, Minden, Cuxhaven, etc.

You don't need a car on Rügen if you stay for less than a week. Most sights are on the eastern side of the island, just like Binz. Stralsund can be done by train, the chalk cliffs by bus or ship, Sellin, Mönchgut or the Granitz Hunting Lodge by steam train and/or bicycle, and to Prora you can hike or bike.
PS: and book early! This is a very popular summer destination, and sometimes Binz is completely booked out.

I'm not really happy with the two days in Dresden. The city, and region, deserve more time. If you are into museums you already need the two days just to see them, since museums like the Green Vaults, the Turkish Chamber, the (often overlooked) armory, the porcelain collection and the Old Masters are quite unique. And I highly recommend to see some of the small towns around Dresden, which look completely different than the ones of the Harz mountains or the Baltic coast (stone vs wood vs brick). Have a look here, a gallery of Meissen and Freiberg, two easy day trips from Dresden:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1512349
And deep in the Ore mountains, Germanys Christmas country, is Seiffen, a village with nothing but Christmas shops. If you are into handmade wooden Christmas toys this is a must... although you probably need to rent a car.

I recommend to add the 2 nights of Celle to Dresden. Don't get me wrong, Celle is a ver nice small town, but the architecture is the same as in Quedlinburg, Wernigerode or Goslar. You can visit Celle as a stopover between the Harz mountains and Lüneburg.
And maybe I would stay in Quedlinburg and not in Wernigerode. I know Wernigerode is more centrally located, and the heart of the old town around the market square is just as nice as Quedlinburgs centre, but as a whole I like Quedlinburg more. It just feels more medieval and romantic.

Martin,
I'm delighted to hear that we can get along without a car on Rugen as I'd rather just stick with the train.

On your advice, I've eliminated the two nights in Celle and added them to Dresden. Your suggestions made good sense.

I had originally thought that we'd stay in both Quedlinburg and Wernigerode, but I decided on Wernigerode because it appeared to have better access to the steam train excursions. If the access is pretty much the same, we could certainly stay in Quedlinburg. More medieval and romantic sounds good to me!

I've been looking for lodging in Binz and will try to get that set in the next few days. This is a bit of a challenge because I have to rely on TripAdvisor and, reasonable enough, many of the reviews are in German. I don't want to stay in a hostel, but I'm also not eager to pay $300/night and up. Will keep looking.

Thanks for your help!

I had originally thought that we'd stay in both Quedlinburg and
Wernigerode, but I decided on Wernigerode because it appeared to have
better access to the steam train excursions. If the access is pretty
much the same, we could certainly stay in Quedlinburg. More medieval
and romantic sounds good to me!

The access to the steam trains is the same, since the Brockenbahn, the train up to the highest peak, is just one part of a much larger network (here is a map). But you are right, for the Brockenbahn Wernigerode is the best choice.
PS: the trip up to the Brocken is also doable from Quedlinburg, you just have to take a train or bus to Wernigerode first (~60min).

I've been looking for lodging in Binz and will try to get that set in
the next few days. This is a bit of a challenge because I have to rely
on TripAdvisor and, reasonable enough, many of the reviews are in
German. I don't want to stay in a hostel, but I'm also not eager to
pay $300/night and up.

Now you know the big disadvantage of Binz: it's incredibly expensive.
Maybe consider Sellin, which is to the south of Binz. The resorts are connected by steam train, but the distance isn't that big anyway and you can also hike or bike from Sellin to Binz and back. The beach of Sellin is smaller, but the pier is very nice. In Sellin you need to stay close to the main road and the beach, where all the nice hotels from the late 19th century are.

If you can't find anything in your price range in Binz, you can consider Sassnitz. But it isn't nearly as nice.

If you look on a map of Rügen, you'll notice an isthmus connnecting the portion of the island that contains Binz and Nationalpark Jasmund with the northernmost tip of the island (Kap Arkona). I seem to recall many smaller hotels along this stretch of road, although you would certainly need a car.

For a hotel recommendation in Binz, I was very pleased with Rugard Strandhotel, particularly if you enjoy the German sauna experience (ie, naked). It's not the most expensive hotel in town, but neither is it the cheapest.

Tom, I decided to go for the authentic German experience and I've reserved a room at Rugard Strandhotel for three nights at the end of our trip. At this point, I've reserved rooms there and in Lubeck and, while both have official cancellation policies, neither asked for a credit card to hold the room. In both cases, I have received email confirmation of the booking. Is this typical?

Hi,

If neither place has asked for your credit card to hold the room and you got the confirmation by e-mail, you're in business. Most likely, the two places don't accept a credit card, or maybe, at most, only accept an EuroCard. Most two star hotels or Pensionen in Germany I reserve by calling them up on the directly, tell them I would like to reserve a single for which nights, etc., ask the price, and that's it. Even if the place takes a credit card (that Pension in Munich does), I won't be asked that over the phone. Your word to show up is good enough. The reservation is secure.

" I've reserved a room at Rugard Strandhotel for three nights at the end of our trip."

Good choice! It's a very nice hotel on the beach, you're about a 10 minute walk from the promenade pier, and as mentioned, they have a nice selection of saunas.

If you have any interest in Third Reich history, read about Prora, which is just to the north of Binz. I'm still not sure if it's open for visitors, but you can see it as you drive by (you might be able to catch a glimpse from the commuter train as well).

And of course, don't miss Nationalpark Jasmund.

I'm still not sure if it's open for visitors

Not all ~11.000 rooms, but some of them house several museums, galleries and a cafe.
PS: and the beach of Prora is great (that's why this monster was built there), and not as packed as the one of Binz.