Which cities to visit first?

I don't like the first option because of the excessive travel time for the Betlin-Goerlitz round-trip.

You refer to a 2-week trip to Germany but list only 6 nights in that country before heading to Vienna. To me, 6 nights is nowhere near enough time for the desired stops in Germany.

Assuming this is your first trip to Berlin, that's the main problem. You may find 3 nights there--which is just two full, non-jetlagged, days--painfully short. Berlin is a geographically spread-out city, so traveling from sight to sight requires significant time. It has many top-quality museums (including art, historical and ethnographic), often large and not the sort of places you'll pop into for just an hour. Then there are the WWII and Cold War sites, most of which can take multiple hours each.

Option 3 and plan 1 more night in Berlin. 2 full days is definitely too short.

Any special interests?
Date of travel?

Hi Max, welcome to the forum. I can't help you with your dilemma because the only one of your proposed locations I've been to is Vienna. As we know, it is in Austria, not Germany. I don't know if you are an experienced traveler or not, or if you have been to Europe before. Don't underestimate the time it takes to move from one location to the next. It takes longer than the train trip when you consider - packing up and checking out of your hotel, getting to the train station from your hotel, buying tickets if you didn't purchase them ahead of time, find your track, wait for your train, your journey to the next place, find your next hotel, check in and settle into your room. I also wanted to talk about planning in general. I plan by how many nights I will be somewhere and from that I know how many full days I will have. For example if you have 4 nights in Berlin that gives you 3 full days. If you take a day trip from there you will then have 2 full days. Maybe that's sufficient time there for you. The one that really jumped out at me was the proposal of spending one night in Dresden, but you would be taking a day trip from there. Since you wouldn't have an entire day there to begin with I'm confused about how that would work. Two weeks seems like a long time, but it will go fast. Everyone has their own desired pace of travel, and I won't try to impose mine on you. Just remember that you can't see it all and if you miss something, unless you have extenuating circumstances you can always go back to see more.

Thanks for your help, everyone. You're right in guessing that I'm new to European travel! To answer your questions, here is my current plan (slated for May 2020):

• Berlin (arrive): 3-4 nights.
  Possible day trip to Potsdam (30min), Dresden (2hrs), Görlitz (2.5 hrs), and/or Bautzen (40min from Görlitz)

• Leipzig: 2 nights
  (then Leipzig to Vienna, stopping in Prague)

• Vienna: 2 nights

• Salzburg: 2 nights

• Munich: 3-4 nights
  Day trip to Bavarian Alps (castles)

• Rothenburg: 1 night

• Frankfurt Airport (leave)

Oh, gosh. That trip is going to have a very high percentage of time in transit vs. actually being somewhere and seeing things. It would frustrate me and be physically tiring because of all the hotel changes. Two nights in Vienna is just one day for that major destination, and "stopping in Prague" is a few hours at best--maybe no time at all by the time you deal with luggage storage and retrieval.

At this point, since you're apparently locked into a Berlin/Frankfurt airline ticket, I'd suggest dropping Vienna and Prague (maybe also Salzburg) and adding time to the key German destinations.

I'm not locked into any ticket (haven't bought anything yet), so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them! The three key stops I'd like to hit are Berlin, Leipzig, and Munich. Aside from that, things are flexible.

Way too much for a 2 week trip. On the way out you lose a whole day because of the time difference. Depending on your flight, you may lose most of the second day. Even with a morning arrival, you will need time to clear immigration and then get to your hotel. Expect to be jet lagged. The last day of your trip will be consumed by packing, checking out, and getting to the airport. So, 3 days don’t count for sight seeing.
Berlin should have more than the 2 days you’ve allotted to it. You should have at least 3 full days; i.e., 4 nights. 2 nights for Leipzig is good. It’s a short distance from Berlin, so you’ll get a good day and a half there. I haven’t been to Dresden, Munich, or Gorlitz, so can’t comment on appropriate time allocation.
Vienna is so chock full of important and interesting sights that we first spent 5 days there. Then we returned the following year for a week. We still couldn’t make it to everything on our list. Don’t even consider stopping in Prague on the way.

Hi,

I would have voted for choice #2. The train routes are better. Berlin to Leipzig on the ICE, Leipzig to Dresden direct. Day trip from Dresden to Görlitz. I like Leipzig too...very interesting historically.

You do have the option of going to Vienna on the night train. Take the ICE back to Berlin Hbf, then the Berlin-Wien Hbf. on the NJ.

Based on the revised plan, I would suggest skipping Prague and Rothenburg odT.

Places on a trip are really shorthand for things you want to do in places i.e. The Prado Museum in Madrid, not just "Madrid."

As others have noted traveling between destinations takes up from half a day to a full day.

What you are really planning is:

One jet lag day and two sightseeing days in Berlin (4 nights). That is not much time for day "trips" to Dresden (2hrs), Görlitz (2.5 hrs), and/or Bautzen (40min from Görlitz)

travel time for Berlin to Leipzig

One sightseeing day in Leipzig (2 nights)

travel time for Leipzig to Vienna

One sightseeing day in Vienna (2 nights)

travel time for Vienna to Salzburg

One sightseeing day in Salzburg (2 nights)

travel time for Salzburg to Munich

Three sightseeing days in Munich (4 nights), one of which will be used for a Day trip to the Bavarian Alps (castles)

travel time for Munich to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Half a day sightseeing in Rothenburg ( 1 night)

travel time for R o d T to Frankfurt.

Departure day from Frankfurt Airport

That is 15 days at a breakneck speed. As a tasting menu maybe it can work, but I think you will appreciate it more if you can find a way to savor fewer places a bit more deeply.

Maybe the thing to do is review guidebooks and come up with a list of what you really want to see in each of these destinations. Then prioritize the list of the things you really want to do more and the different places less.

Thank you! This is very helpful. Right now my priorities are seeing Berlin (especially Nazi and Cold War sites), Leipzig (especially the Bach sites), and Munich (especially the palaces and museums, with day trips to the castles). The remaining cities (Vienna, Salzburg, Rothenburg, etc.) are less important.

However, I'm definitely trying to find a balance between city and rural life—hence the desire to visit Görlitz, Salzburg (where I'd stay in a charming pension), and Rothenburg.

I didn't know there are any Mozart sites in Leipzig at all. Other composers, yes, of course, but Mozart?

Given the priorities you've listed, and since the flights aren't booked yet, you could fly into Berlin and out of Munich. You would skip Salzburg and Vienna, and add those nights to Berlin (4 min) and Dresden or Görlitz (3, to allow for day trips). Logical order is Berlin --> Dresden or Görlitz --> Leipzig --> south
Rothenburg works as an overnight stop between Leipzig and Munich, but it requires many connections. Have a look at Bamberg as an alternative "cute German small town": it is less heavily visited, and right on the fast train line between Leipzig and Munich, saving you hours in transit.

ibrenn: You're absolutely right, that was a typo on my part! I meant Bach, not Mozart. Thanks for noticing—I edited the post. :)

@balso: Bamberg sounds like a great idea! I also noticed that the route from Bamberg to Munich stops through Nuremberg, so maybe I could spend a few hours there too?

Sure, you could spend some time in Nuremberg too, there are lockers at the station.