Europe with two teenagers and my mother-in-law

How old are teenagers and why is son reluctant?
I have taken my 14 yr old son to Paris and London two years ago.This past year my husband took our next son, now also aged 14 yr old to London, Paris, and Hanover( Germany).
First son liked some things my second son didn't. Second son does not like to sit still for one minute,, first son enjoyed the Lourve, so personalities really count.
Both boys loved Eiffel Tower, and the Catacombs in Paris( google that! )both boys liked Bath, but thought the Tower of London was a let down.
Hubby took son to a science museum in Germany that he loved,, I climbed the stairs up the Eiffel Tower to please son.One son ate escargot and tried "stinky cheese" the other son had to have McDonalds regularily.
Personally I would NOT take MIL unless I was assured she had a POSITIVE attitude towards different cultures, you don't want to take an adult along that may display negative attitudes for kids to pick up on, some people hate change.

For a week or so I'd suggest a vacation rental not far from W'baden. Maybe MIL could have her own? The Rhine Valley to the north is a good spot - tour medieval castles, take a boat cruise, canoe (on the nearby Lahn river that's popular) bike and hike, do some wine tasting, and probably get in on a local festival or two (Mainz' Johannisfest on June 23 is one. The Tal Total bike fest takes place on a Sunday in June; it closes down the river roads and involves thousands of peopleon bikes and rollerblades just having a good time.) You could also daytrip into the city (Koblenz, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Cologne, Trier.) Trains run along both sides of the river and are easy to use - teens could probably get around independently, and train daypasses for a party of 5 are under 30 Euros/day.

St. Goar is a good base - has its own ruined castle - ferry across the river and walk to the train station for travel along the east bank. We stayed here and loved it:

www.loreley-apartments.de/

And... if you have another 5-7 days, maybe spend them south of Munich in some alpine splendor. From Garmisch, you can daytrip to Munich, Mittenwald, Innsbruck, and several other interesting and scenic villages. Lots of outdoor rec. here, natural wonders, good food and culture (The Bavarian Evening at the Fraundorfer Inn is lots of fun.) A car is handiest for touring this area, but I'd take the train into Munich to avoid traffic hassles. Vacation rentals abound in this region; have a look at www.accommodation.de for rentals all over Germany.

Should have said, my son will be 13, daughter 15 -- and I love my mother-in-law and we get along great (otherwise I wouldn't give her my husband's spot)

Hey Kelley, I spent 4 weeks with my son 17, nephew 13, niece 8, sis-in-law & best friend, plus my mother who isn't as great as your mother-in-law sounds. This is actually my 5th trip with my son ranging in age from 1 on. My biggest advice is that you set your kids to doing research on Europe. What do they know about Germany? For me I'd probably do southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria. Not all but those are the places I'd think about. Most kids enjoy Neuschwanstein castle, maybe a boat ride on the Rhein, there is some alpine sledding around, etc. For the kids I took this year their own ability to search the internet (the 8 yr old had a little help) gave them ownership. Your enthusiasm for new places and cultures should also have a positive effect on how they feel about it. Also, tell their teachers. Maybe they can have the class talk about it.

I would make a real effort to involve everyone in the planning process form the very beginning.

Your role might be to "interpret" what people say they are interested in and make specific proposals. So if son says she likes castles, find out what about castles, and work that "what" into the itinerary. But get everyone involved somehow.

Glad MIL is an ally, that does make it alot easier.
I liked the posters recommendation of St Goar,, they even do an "evening candlelight" tour of the castle that your kids would love!

Are your kids into technology? Our two boys (14 & 16) had fun setting up a forum so we could post info about our trip. We could even put up pictures for our friends and family and they could post back to us. Rheinfels castle in St. Goar was a great favorite of our 14 y/o. We also had them read through Rick's guide books to get ideas and learn about the places they would be seeing and tried to clue them in on culture, food etc. Salzburg is great for biking and close to Hallstatt with its salt mine and the luge (Sommerrodelbahn sp?) in between.