Germany and Austria in 9 days

Suggest you stick to Munich, Hallstatt, Rothenburg, and skip Frankfurt - too big, too modern. Vienna is quite large and requires a lot of time, and it is a long trek; my guess is that it will bore your husband silly. IMO it isn't worth the extra time for a visit of just 9 days. Suggest instead that you visit Nuremberg, Bamberg, and/or Würzburg, all of which are fairly close to Rothenburg; these are medium-sized cities with terrific architecture and lovely settings, places with a little something for everyone. You could also check out Salzburg between Munich and Hallstatt.

Don't waste time with Frankfurt. It's just a large banking town. Spend the time instead on a trip down the Rhine. Do Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein if possible. Wurzburg is also a good suggestion.

If your husband likes nature, you could do Berechtesgaden and the Koenigsee. Or you could go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and enjoy a beautiful town in the Alps. In Austria, you could go to Salzburg, also in the Alps.

9 days is not really alot so why not group your sights so you are not traveling so much and seeing more. Vienna and Prague sit way off from your other choices. I would skip Frankfurt but if that is the airport you will use try the Rhine ie Bacharach and St Goar a little more than an hour away from Frankfurt. You didn't mention your mode of transport it will make a big diff in your itn.

like your choices except for prague iv e done this trip. maybe bad ischl.

I would also suggest Salzburg. There is a direct train that leaves Munich main HBF at 07:26 and arrives Salzburg 08:57. You could have a full day in Salzburg. Check out the Bayern/Barvarian Ticket.

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/travelservice/laender_tickets.shtml

Scroll about half way down the page.

Deciding where to go, in nine days, is a difficult dicision. I travelled in Germany and Austria. As I see it, you have two basic plans to choose from.
Plan (A) Be in Germany only. You could go on a boat ride on the Rhine River between Bingen and St. Goar.
And visit the castle Marksburg at Braubach at the Rhine River. And also be a tourist in Bavaria, including Munich. Plan (B) : if you fly to Munich, be in Bavaria in Germany, and northern Austria. From Salzburg there is a 5 - hour tour (in a mini bus) to the Salzkarmergut - to lake Wolfgang. (Very pleasant). It is a good choice for people who do not have time to go to Halstat and Bad Ischal. OR you could go to Halstat for one night, and stop at Bad Ischal on the way back to Salzburg, if going to those places is a high priority for you. You don't have time for Vienna. Both Germany and Austria are easy to like.

Skip Franfurt. Rent a car with GPS at the airport. We did this last sumer. We drove north and spent 2 days in Bacharach (shouls have stayed 1). Drove south to Rothenburg, spent 1 day there (should have stayed 2) Drove south into the heart of Bavaria and into northern Austria. Stayed in Reutte (in the Alps) and used that as a base to go to Ludwigs castles, etc..(2 days) Drove to Munich (2 days)..big city lots of shopping. Drove to Berchtesgaden (sp) and (gorgeous) did the Obersalzberg and Hitler's Eagle nest and Lake Konigsee (1 day) Drove from there to Salzburg (2 days) ,a must see..gorgeous small city with a lot to do and see and buy ,do the Mozart Dinner Concert. If it were me I would skip Munich..too big, particularly if you only have 9 days. The Octoberfest is in September by the way and unless you love wall to wall drunks I would avoid it at all costs. After Salzburg drive to Hallstatt (1 or 2 days is enough but very well worth it. From there you can drive into Vienna and fly.

I agree Richard. Avoid Munich during Oktoberfest. It will be a ZOO! Plus, you'll never find a room at this point anyway... Richard, we're staying in Salzburg in September and we were going to do a day at the Berechtesgaden. Did you do the boatride? Is there enough time to do Eagle's Nest and the boatride?

From Frankfurt you could head over to Wurzburg and then down the “Romantic Road” (Rothenburg, Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen, etc. to Augsburg and into Munich. The road trip doesn’t really take that much time, a couple days, depending on how many stops you make along the way. Out of Munich (worth a couple of days) you could take in Salzburg (worth a day or so too) and from there to St. Wolfgang Bad Ischl, Hallstat (slower pace and lots of nature), to Zell am See, Berchtesgaden, and over to Innsbruck, Garmisch Partenkirchen, and Oberammaergau. Some of this is easier to do by car. If by train, you could make day trips from Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck. There are always so many choices and not enough time. Whatever you decide, have a great trip.

Thanks to everyone for the great ideas and much needed help. I know which towns I will be visiting, now I will move into what I plan to do in each of them and logistics. Some suggest that Munich is crazy at this time, but we don't want to pass up seeing this place!

Schedule:
Day 1-3: Bonn to Rothenburg (Have to be in Bonn, no choice). 1 night in Rothenburg
Day 4-5: Munich
Day 6-7: Salzburg
Day 8: Hallstatt
Day 9: Frankfurt (plane departs from here)

I want to stop by Wurzberg, but not sure how much time I have and if I should stop by on my way to Munich or on my way back to Frankfurt?

Sarah, I don't see where you say you are driving or taking trains. From your itinerary it sounds like driving. If so, you might use the webistes michelin.com and/or mappy.com, as that's quite a haul from Hallstat to Frankfurt. I also think Munich is worth the visit too, so we're headed there for two days end of September. It's getting close. Have a great time.