You shouldn’t rely on short connections in Germany, they are not reliable enough.

Connections within Switzerland are very reliable and short ones are deliberate to allow thes journeys be made

Leave early enough to cope with a missed connection and dropping back 30 or 60 minutes.

Thanks.  I think I will just rent a car. It’s kind of expensive but saves the hassle of luggage on a European train plus multiple connections.   Assuming I don’t drive off the road, I’ll arrive much earlier than the train and likely in better condition.

You could always plan with longer connections, maybe making a break along the way and so on. No need to rush, you wouldn't drive for 6h straight either (hopefully!).

It will take all day but you'll see the Bavarian hills, Lake Constance, the Alps from three countries (DE/AT/CH),…

For a better experience get a 1st class ticket/pass. The carriages are always empty.

(Also note that a vignette is required on Swiss highways. Your rental car won't necessarily have it. One-way international car rentals also incur expensive fees, when they're even possible!)

You're on a train forum so nobody will tell you to drive anyway.

4 transfers is also not the end of the world. I do 5 on my daily commute!

I don’t really have the time. 9 hours is already a lot!  I’m meeting friends and only have 3-4 days at the hotel.  I get it, I asked a question to see if the train really made sense.  I’m old.  I’m relatively fit but will have 2 bags of some sort as I can’t go to Bayreuth Festival in cutoffs and t-shirts.

I’m American so used to driving.  I said car is expensive but it’s not nearly as much as a car service and I have time enough for leisurely trip. Apparently it’s possible because they took my booking and confirmed.

I’d prefer to pay less but can afford what they are charging.

Thanks for taking the time. Last time we went to Bayreuth we started from Hamburg and took train and after the festival took trains to Leipzig and Dresden then Berlin and then took another train to Frankfurt to fly home.

We did get first class and they were fully booked pretty much throughout with no place for luggage.  We also did trains from Budapest-Wien-Prague, not to mention Moskow-Ulan Bator then on to Beijing and, many years ago Nha Trang-Hue-Hanoi.  Oh my also around the famed Horseshoe Curve and once Chicago-San Francisco.

I like the train and take it in our Northeast Corridor frequently, but this 4 changes and 9 hours and potentially missing connection won;t work

One other “issue.” I can go MUC-Bayreuth with one transfer in Nurnberg.  They only allow 7 minutes.  My problem is, tickets are train specific, so what do I do if I miss the connection?  You can only get in touch with DB by phone, not by email and the FAQ don’t address the situation

If you miss the connection because the 1st train is delayed, then DB is generous and the Zugbindung is released. So you can still travel, but only if there is space. Priority goes to those passengers already booked on that train.

If you miss a connection, your ticket is valid on the next train. If possible get some proof of the delay from the staff on the delayed train.

The ICE has more chances to be a few minutes late than the RE. That transfer shouldn't be an issue.

There are always later trains as said. There are at least 3-4 high-speed trains an hour between Nuremberg and Munich.

It’s not Munich-Nurnberg I worry about. It’s the connection in Nurnberg for Bayreuth.  The opera doesn’t start until 18:00 so I’ll get there eventually in time.  The route they give me has 7 or perhaps 10 minutes so being at all late might mess it up.

 On one route it told me there was a 200 m walk(10 minutes they think) but the other says nothing, which leads me to believe it may be across the platform.  Can’t get info from DB as they have only telephone and FAQ.

The ticket will be train specific so if I miss one, can I just get on the next?

Thanks to all for taking the time to respond.  I’m actually a very experienced traveler and have taken many European trains since 1984 and as recently as 2020 in Budapest, Prague, Vienna but things can be different so I’m trying to “measure twice, cut once!”

I found the answer to my Munich-Bayreuth. I can specify a minimum connection time which could give me as much as 35 minutes.

The short ones are 7 or 10 and nothing in between but 35 could let me be leisurely and I am in no great rush anyway 

I already told you that a few times ;)

The DB Navigator app (or website) lets you add stopovers and it's a really good tool.

One final ask.  I was about to reserve my seat but is there a way to determine in which direction a train is going?  I don’t really like going backwards.

Im sure 2d class is fine for the likes of me but 1st may be better and it’s not a lot more.  I’m thinking the non-cancel should be fine if I give myself a 35 minute transfer time.  The cancel still costs 10E unless you book a seat for triple the price.

It’s August and for 5E90 I’d rather make sure of a seat and get a nice one, a single.

Thanks again for all of the assistance.  I’m using the advice of my late tailor Mr. Kyi “Measure twice, cut once!”

Even the company often doesn't know which way the train will be facing until the day. You can always ask nicely people to move.

1st class has also much more chances to have free seats.

I'd get 1st class for sure, it will give you a better experience overall. :)

About tickets: we've already told you but even with train-specific tickets you're allowed on later trains free of charge (without doing anything) if you miss a connection.

(There are also chances that the train-specific ticket becomes fully flexible as soon as there's a little timetable change (a 1 min later planned departure is enough). You'll get an email in that case.)