....and like I *needed* more than the proverbial "31 flavors", I just discovered that some of the DB rail passes include river cruises....

Right now it looks like the "major stages" will be:

- arriving in DUS and heading down to somewhere in the Black Forest for a few days.
- travelling to Munich for a few days (may stop in Fussen on the way) with a possible side trip to Salzburg.
- Up to Berlin for a few days.
- Back to Dusseldorf, possibly via Hamburg if there's enough time.

So far, the ONLY drawback to taking the train seems to be the "lugging luggage" - especially for some little stopover along the way to somewhere else... ...and there's the issue of "getting around" in small towns to whatever attractions we're looking for.

Oh - and the "plays hell with the budgets" referred to replacing a cheaper hobby (local driving trips) with something more expensive (international travel that is NOT driving 4 hours to Canada).