Germany not too clear cut for me....help.

Check out the Deutsche Welle News Website. They have a free interactive online course to help you learn German as well as a variety of other free resources. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2547,00.html You might find that is all you end up needing.

Cologne, Rothenburg, and the Black forest are all too far apart to do daytrips cheaply and comfortably. If you stay near Bacharach, daytrips to Heidelberg and Cologne are possible. A Rheinland-pfalz daypass (21 Euros for one) gets you to Mannheim (almost to H'berg) and back. It also gets you to Bonn (almost to Cologne) and back. Add a few Euros for the extra tickets. http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/prices/germany/laender-ticket.shtml You can travel around the Black Forest for free... http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus ...if you stay in any of these towns... http://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/service/konus/was_ist_konus/uebersichtskarte/hier_erhalten_sie_ihre_konus_gaestekarte ...and travel is valid within the red outlined area here... http://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/service/konus/was_ist_konus/uebersichtskarte Rothenburg should be seen on its own.

'will buy rosetta stone/german. is this an efficient way to learn a little german?" It's an efficient way to learn how to say things like "The child stands behind the red car", but nearly worthless for most communication purposes. If you're going to spend a lot of money on a foreign language software program, go with the "Tell Me More" series. As Russ mentioned, your destinations are a little too far apart to visit from one homebase. And as always, let me make a recommendation for a great region of Germany that most foreign tourists bypass on their way to Rothenburg or the Black Forest- the Odenwald! Heidelberg sits on the western edge of this forested mountain range. With the exception of snow-capped Alpine peaks, it has all the things that most travelers come to Germany to see and experience... vineyards, beer gardens, castles, fachwerk villages, river valleys, palaces, etc.

thanks, christina. i went to the website and learned a few phrases : ich wohne im margate. will continue on to next lessons. russ and tom : can i break up western germany into 2 4-day stays, perhaps 4 days in cologne (w/ side trips to dusseldorf, bonn, st goar?), and 4 days in heidelberg (w/ side trips to black forest, rothenburg, bacharach).

If you are planning for June /July 2012, there is ample time for you to read about all these potential places and make up your own mind about what seems to interest you. Surely you want to do a trip that interests you, not one that interests me or someone else. Once you have done that and sketched it out, then it makes sense to ask for the groups opinions. As we all say, planning is at least half the joy of travelling

Have you gotten a Germany guide book to help with your planning yet? I found RS Germany guide very helpful in planning my trip there this coming summer.

"and 4 days in heidelberg (w/ side trips to black forest, rothenburg, bacharach)." I'm not sure why you want to visit St. Goar from Cologne but Bacharach from Heidelberg. Wouldn't it make more sense to visit both on the same day, seeing that they're pretty close to each other? When friends and family have visited me (I live about 20 minutes north of Heidelberg), a day trip to the Black Forest is mentioned. I then walk them to the edge of the village where I live and have them look to the east- immediately, you can see thickly forested mountains, castles, vineyards, charming rural villages, etc. In short, many of the things people travel to Germany to see. Rather than going 1-2 hours out of your way to visit the Black Forest, the Odenwald sits right on your doorstep from Heidelberg.

Olivia, you'll be much closer to the heart of the southern black forrest, like Triberg or Feldberg when you're in Strasbourg. You could day trip over from there. It just depends on what you're looking for.

Olivia, As Charlie mentioned, you'll probably find the Germany 2011 Guidebook to be VERY helpful in planning your trip. That should help to develop not only a logical route, but also sightseeing in each area. As you're going to be in Strasbourg just prior to the Germany portion of your trip, you might consider covering the Black Forest, Munich, Austria, etc. first and then moving north to Berlin. Arrange your flight home from Berlin. Regarding the "language" issue, I've tried some of the introductory Rosetta Stone lessons, and they don't really work for me. Much of that system seems to be computer-based, and I'd rather not sit in front of a computer to learn. I've been using Pimsleur lessons to learn Italian, and that's been much more successful. I'm not fluent, but I can manage quite nicely. I don't have any suggestions on the "studio with kitchen", as I always use budget Hotels. One of the best parts of travel for me is that I can get away from the "kitchen" part of my daily routine. Hopefully some of the others will have some ideas on that. Cheers!

Once you narrow down where you'll be staying, you can go on the town website to look for accomodations. The website will be www.(name of town).de. Some towns will have a place on top to click to go to English, others won't. If they don't have the site in English, look for übernachten to search for accomodations. Then look for Ferienwohnung or "FeWo" for short. In the smaller towns (i.e. NOT Munich), you can find apartments for around 50 euros/night easily. You'll know from your previous experience to see what's included in the price. Some charge extra for things like final cleaning or electricity or towels, some include everything in the rental price.

hey guys, thanks a lot for all your suggestions. this is a preliminary plunge into the foray. this will help me determine length of stay and flight dates - we will be using airline miles so that needs to be done a year ahead. good advice re rosetta stone. won't buy it. i do have an RS book but not with me right now. ok, you may hear from me again when the time is near. thanks again.

Olivia, sounds like a great trip. Maybe I missed it in your list, but I'd give a day to Ludwig's Castles (neuschwanstein, hoenschwangau, possibly linderhof, etc.), which can be done from a day in Munich if you don't want to stay in Fussen or Reutta. Definitely hit Rothenburg ob der tauber, and experience the black forest. A cruise on the rhine or mosel would be great, especially if your into wine (white is best here. Oh, the rieslings...) Some of the best castles are here, too. Rick's Germany 2011 book will be indispensable.
I've used rosetta stone/tell me more/ and pimsleur to learn italian, french, german, and spanish. If you prefer to learn in front of a computer (you really need to study daily), then go with Tell me more. If you prefer by cd (i.e in your car) then go with pimsleur. I prefer the pimsleur method (works on work commute while I'm a captive audience) and you learn many phrases and words that will help you while touring. While it won't make you fluent, it will make communication much easier.

For learning a language, there's nothing like taking a continuing ed class through a community college - if German is available. The nice thing about taking these low key (no grade) classes is you often pick up some cultural tips. After I take these classes, I borrow a number of language course cds from the library and make a copy for myself. I practice a lot in the car or on the road. Unfortunately, I seem to forget just about everything I learn the minute I encounter the opportunity to use the language in the country. I find that as long as I can say some greetings and a couple complimentary words (e.g., beautiful) and count to 20, I do just fine. I imagine that a high percentage of Germans speak English.

Egad! Slow down take time to enjoy everything and don't spend your time rushing around. A day trip from Berlin to Dresden doesn't leave you much time to see Dresden, for instance. Instead I would spend the extra time in Berlin (a fabulous city)Save Dresden for next time. Figure you'll be back again some day soon.
I love Germany, have been there 5 times in the last 7 years and have another trip planned for next month.