Logistics of a Rhine cruise and Marksburg Castle tour

Thanks to everyone. We are dropping the Rhine bit on this trip. I am recommending to my son that he arrive in Rothenburg on Sunday, stay thru Monday night, and travel to Kiel on Tuesday. My son is a trombonist, and I noticed in Rick Steves' lodgings that Gaestehaus Raidel is owned by a man who plays in a Dixieland band and invented a combination saxophone/trombone. My son has a reservation at this Gaestehaus, and I think he might enjoy staying a second night there. Maybe he will even have a chance to play!

I appreciate everyone taking the time to think about my questions and providing answers. This is a great service!

Day 1. You're spending almost no time in Rothenburg. It's probably not worth all that travel. You'd be better off maximizing your time on the Rhine before heading to Kiel.

Day 2. If you do as you've planned...Provided you can get to St. Goar by 11 am or so (you may miss breakfast), you can check into a hotel there, drop bags, and catch the
11:55 boat to Braubach (arrive 13:20) then tour Marksburg. Return to St. Goar that afternoon via train to St. Goarshausen and take the ferry across the river to St. Goar.

http://www.k-d.com/

Day 3. I'd train to Cologne to see more of the Rhine and to take a 1-hour break or longer in Cologne to see the cathedral - and proceed to Kiel from there.

From Rothenburg to Kiel by way of Braubach takes about 12 hours of just travel time - all that just to see one castle and take a Rhein cruise.

If you leave Rothenburg at 6:57, you'll get to Braubach at 11:45. That would give you less than 4 hours to check in to one of the hotels in Braubach (Weinhaus Wieghardt), get up the hill to the castle, wait for a tours (is English required?), tour, get back down to Braubach Bahnhof. There's a train from Braubach at 15:10 getting to St. Goarshausen at 15:31, giving you 34 min to get down to the K-D dock, buy your tickets and catch the boat at 16:05. There is also a train at 15:25 from Braubach, getting into St. Goarshausen at 15:45, only giving you 20 min to boat time. Of course, there is another boat at 18:05, but that doesn't get you back to Braubach until 19:20 (7:20 PM).

I think that trip is too hectic. You'd have breakfast before seven and dinner after 5:20, maybe after 7:20. Where is there time for lunch?

Thanks to the replies. I've also come to the conclusion that the Rhine cruise and castle is too much. This trip is for my son, who is in Berlin right now. He will be traveling to Rothenburg, arriving before noon and staying overnight. I was just trying to find him something else to do for the day and a half on his way up to Kiel. Maybe he should stay longer in Rothenburg and leave late in the day?

But one more question: can one take luggage on these Rhine cruises, essentially using them as a leg in a one-way journey? That could make a late-day Rhine cruise (like the one on the Goethe at 17:15 from Bacharach) more feasible.

Like Lee said - it's unwise to try to do both places. Do one or the other. Perhaps you're underinformed on what else to do in each of these areas. I could spend a week in each place and keep myself completely busy. If you want to see some great castles and wonderful scenery with small wine towns, spend your time in the Rhine/Mosel region. If you want to see well-preserved old-world cities, do Rothenburg/Bamberg and maybe some of Würzburg or Nuremberg.

I'm sure it's possible to take a small bit of luggage onboard - but you shouldn't have to if you dedicate some time to the area instead of your plan A.