From Munich by train to take a KD boat tour of the Rhine

"How do I find out where they make stops?"

You can find schedules at www.k-d.de.

Do you plan to come all the way from Munich AND do the Rhein cruise AND do two castles in one day, or do you plan to come from Munich one day, stay somewhere overnight, and do the cruise and the castles the next day?

We are arriving in Munich on a Tuesday at 9am. We want to take the train to Bielefeld to meet a friend on Saturday. So we have Wed, Thur, and Fri to do a bit of sight seeing in the lower half of the country so to speak. I know that's not a lot of time, but was hoping to be able to take a train from Munich Wednesday afternoon to the Middle Rhine area and spend the night. Take the cruise and castle tours on Thursday & Friday, then leave for Bielefeld on Saturday. Does that sound doable? Just not sure where best to start and end if we want to see Marksburg and Rheinfels. Open to any other suggestions too.

Marksburg has a very good tour, and it's easy to reach from the Braubach station - either take the shuttle for a few Euros from the middle of town, or walk uphill (maybe 20-30 minutes, moderately strenuous.) If you see two castles, one should be Burg Eltz; it's west of Koblenz on the Mosel River. It takes 45-60 minutes each way to walk from Moselkern station:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

I would substitute Rheinfels only if you don't have time for or cannot do this walk. Eltz is great, Rheinfels a set of ruins with a good museum.

So on Wednesday: Overnight in Bacharach. It's a very nice town with lots of cobblestones and half-timbered homes, and a good place to catch a tour boat for a short Rhine Cruise. On Th morning, catch the 10:15 K-D boat north to Braubach, about 2 hours of the very best of the Rhine scenery. Then tour Marksburg and spend the rest of your day as you wish. (It might be possible to get to St. Goar that afternoon for a tour of Rheinfels too, but it sounds a bit much to me.)

On Friday: take the train north, change in Koblenz for Moselkern to visit Burg Eltz; spend the afternoon and early evening in lovely Cochem, just a couple of stops beyond Moselkern. It's a fabulously attractive place with a wonderful old town in the most scenic of settings. Lots of great cafes and eateries. Then return to Bacharach for overnight. (Alternatively, you can see Rheinfels on this morning.)

On Sat, I'd stop in Cologne for a look at the cathedral (adjacent to the station) before moving on to Bielefeld.

Unless you have already spent time in Munich, I would rather see you spend more time there. Go to the Rhein area on Thursday. Leave early enough from Munich to stop in Bacharach and take the boat from there (40 min) to St. Goar. Spend the night in St. Goar. You should be able to see Rheinfels on Friday morning, then leave on the 11:55 boat for Braubach, arriving at 13:20. That would give you plenty of time to see the Marksburg and get back on the train to St. Goarshausen. Take the ferry across the Rhein from St. Goarshausen to St. Goar.

Thanks for the info! Lee...if we did stay longer in Munich what would you suggest we do? It will be my 22 yr. old daughter and I.

There are so many things to do in Munich. It's my favorite city in all of Germany (and I generally don't like cities).

Start one morning in Marienplatz at 11:00 to see the Glockenspiel play.

Right around Marienplatz are several things. To the left as you look up at the Rathaus, is Frauenkirche, the church with the green cupolas, the symbol of Munich.

Over your left shoulder is Peterskirche. For a few € you can climb the tower to the top for a glorious view of Marienplatz, Munich, and on a clear day, the Alps.

To the left is the Fußganger (Pedestrian) zone that leads up to Karlstor and the Hauptbahnhof, with all of the little shops.

You can have lunch in the Ratskeller under the Neues Rathaus. Down to the east is the Isar Tor, one of the original town gates of Munich.

Nearby is the Residenz, the in-town palace of the Wittelsbachers. To the right is the Viktualienmakt, the farmer's market of Munich.

Also nearby is the Hofbräuhaus for a bit of Bavarian fun.

Beyond Isar Tor is the Deutsches Museum, but that takes a lot of time.

Some people like the Alte and Neue Pinokoteke, but I am not into art.

South of Marienplatz is the city museum of Munich. It's entirely in German, but has always had interesting exhibits on historical Munich.

Of course to the north is the Englischer Garten park. And there is Dachau.

Take the #17 tram from the north side of the Hauptbahnhof to Schloß Nymphenburg, the summer palace of the Wittelsbachers, and a grand park setting.

I've often spent 3 or 4 days at a time in Munich and never run out of things to see.

Thanks everyone for all the info! It makes my planning easier. I'm hoping I haven't waited too long for a room reservation in the smaller towns on the Rhine. We will arrive July 16th. Again, thank you!