Germany & Switzerland Itinerary

Sounds like a nice trip to great places! I'd do it slightly differently to cut down on the short stays and enable you to see a little more. Cochem is a great town - I'd just stay on through until morning of Day 4 to avoid packing, unpacking, and checking in to a new place. On day 3, catch your train to Bacharach, enjoy the town, then take an afternoon Rhine Cruise (15:15 on the shoulder season schedule beginning 10/4) to St. Goar. Visit Rheinfels that afternoon, have a meal, then catch the train back to Cochem. On Day 4, see something you haven't seen before you leave - maybe the falconry show at Reichsburg Castle in Cochem, or check out of your hotel and stop in Braubach at Marksburg Castle, or...? Then proceed to Gengenbach that evening. You could definitely use two nights there. On day 5, take the "Black Forest Railway" to Donaueschingen (not the "Höllentalbahn", which connects Freiburg and Donaueschingen.) Or maybe not that far - there is lots to see and do before Donaueschingen, and it will be much easier without luggage. Check this page and links to towns on it! http://www.black-forest-travel.com/places-of-interest/black-forest-railway.html (Gutach's Vogtsbauernhof is best reached from Hausach.) Then return to Gengenbach for another night. (cont.)

(cont.) On Day 6, take the more direct route to Freiburg via Offenburg (drop bags at F'burg hotel or in locker?) and the Höllentalbahn to D'eschingen from there; return to Freiburg for the night as planned. D'eschingen isn't all that interesting. You could easily end your trip in Löffingen (nice town) and return from there. You might want to see Hinterzarten, Titisee, or Neustadt on the way for some walking/hiking. This plan involves some backtracking in very scenic areas by train, but by using daypasses you can do so very cheaply. Let me know if you're interested and I'll show you how.

I would recommend sleeping in Lauterbrunnen or Murren, rather than Wengen. Lauterbrunnen is a good base to for the whole valley area. Murren is perfect if you want hiking.

I think you'll want to be high up in lauderbrunnen - not long to travel around. Definitely 2 full days in this area.
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Russ- Thanks for the suggestions. I had contemplated possibly using Bacharach as a base with a day trip to Burg Eltz but do you think Cochem is the more interesting? I find the train travel in the Black Forest somewhat confusing. I just wanted to see it thinking it might be similiar to our area with the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mtns. and therefor was not planning to spend much time there. Any added thoughts would be appreciated. Mike- We do like to hike. I stayed in Wengen many years ago but my wife didn't. It seemed to have good access to the Jungfrau. What is the preference for Murren over Wengen?

I'm headed for the Great Smokies 2 months from now :) If in SC you don't have old-world villages with half-timbered buildings, cobblestones and the like, you'd probably enjoy getting off the BF trains and having a look around. Not sure exactly what the point of confusion is for you in the BF, but maybe a visual will help. You can see here how the trains run the triangle formed by Offenburg, Donaueschingen and Freiburg: http://www.3-loewen-takt.de/fileadmin/Downloads/pdf/spnv.pdf These trips - whether you do it as you planned or as I have suggested - are free because you'll be staying in Gengenbach. Just ask your hosts there for a Konus Karte: http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus I like Cochem a good bit more than Bacharach. But both places are very nice. From Cochem (but not from Bacharach) a 3-day railpass for outings for 2 people costs 40€ and would cover you for the outings from Cochem. (Bacharach isn't within the area of coverage. You'd need an additional ticket for Oberwesel to Bacharach on your way there to do your cruise - about 2€ each.) http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/network-tickets/