Right, then. I am thinking of this as my first draft (highlighting the important questions/stops for those who don't like reading long posts):
4/28: Throwaway day that I don't want to throw away - I usually just power through the first day to fight off jet lag, plus I might sleep on the train. By the way -
is there much difference between the two classes on the ICE? Could use
a couple of recommendations about some nice cafes close to city center, as well. Or I might just go to
Augustiner-Keller for late lunch/early dinner. If I have the energy and the sun is still up (sunset is around 6 pm), I might even go
plane spotting then.
4/29:
Deutsches Museum in the morning (opens at 9 and I'm going to be wide awake around 6, I'm sure), visit the
Viktualienmarkt around lunchtime, then pick up a car and be on my way. As the museum in Dachau is open until 5 and the drive is short, I could go then. I'm sure I won't last more than two hours, but I kind of feel like I need to do this, even if it is for a short visit. Then drive to
Regensburg for the night. That's about 150 km, all told.
4/30: Explore Regensburg and maybe
Weltenburg. In any event,
Rothenburg ob der Tauber would be my destination. Should be an easy enough drive to make in about three hours. (250 km, if I'm rounding up).
5/1: Feels like there's more to do and see in Rothenburg than Regensburg, but I still don't think it would hold my attention until later than mid-afternoon. The drive to
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a bit longer (300 km), but I should still be able to make it in four hours or so. Could use advice on where to stop on the way. Maybe
Ulm? There's a bread museum there..
5/2-5/3: As Garmisch, Mittenwald, Oberammergau, Ettal and (maybe) Schloss Linderhof are all covered by less than 100 km and I'll have a full two days to explore, all I need now is to figure out how to organize my time around them and when to go to one of
Tegernsee or
Berchtesgaden (weather permitting, of course). That's 200 km or so (including the return trip to Munich) with Tegernsee, 400 with Berchtesgaden.
How's that? Keeps me well under the km limit even on the long side (900/1,100 overall, so even with a side trip or two I should be OK) and covers what feels like a lot while leaving a bit of wiggle room at the end of the journey. I'm usually not one to hang around the same place for too long, so it's very much in character for me to travel this way, but still
if you feel like this may be overkill and I can skip something, I'm all ears. If the route itself sounds OK,
it would be nice to know of any local attractions (not just food-related) that you've been to/seen/tried.
Of course, another option would be to do a different loop and go to the Bavarian Forest National Park, Ceske Budejovice and Linz, but something tells me this is best left for another trip.