Hi,

    > The sticky details: The wife believes that she must visit Italy. I --
    > who am admittedly not an authority on the subject -- think she does not
    > realize the distances, and that will see more and travel less by
    > spending more time in France as we make our way east towards Germany
    > and then spend more time at a leisurely pace going through Germany to
    > Berlin. But one thing is certain: we start in Paris and end in Berlin!

Hm. That's difficult because it can indeed be done in 8 days. The only
question is whether you would like it because you are going be in trains
for roughly 40 hours, stops not counted. That's almost two days worth' in
train. If you want to include Italy, I'd really look for discount fares
on the web. They might actually be cheaper than the train, and of course
you'll save much time (it's 1.5 h Paris -> Venice, 1.5 h Venice ->
Berlin).

I can't give you real advice, so best to just include the following in
your considerations:

Many travellers, especially from overseas, say Venice is one of their
favourite place in Europe. Personally, I find it too full of tourists,
and it doesn't give you a good impression what real Italy is. The city is
lovely at night, though.

The train from Paris to Venice does not stop in many intersting places.
The only exception would be Milan, which has a nice cathedral, but lacks
the (relaxed) atmosphere that Italy is famour for. It's an industrial
city in Northern Italy, after all. Taking side-trips from this route
would mean Tuscany, and that's 3 h from Milan.

You'd win much time if you go from France to Germany. That way, you could
include Heidelberg or Tübingen in your itinerary. I usually recommend the
latter because I'm from there and it has much of Heidelberg's charm, but
there are much less tourists. Anyway, you could see some of the Rhine
castles, and if you're into hiking and landscapes, both provide good
places for daytrips. I don't recall when you want to go, but if it's
anything from May on, it will be pleasantly warm.

HTH,
R