Hello Charles
My daughter and I recently returned from about 10 days in Germany but with the exception of flying into Frankfurt we did not visit any of the towns you mention. I suppose you will be driving. The Autobahn lived up to our expections but if you stay in the right lane (unless you are a NSCAR driver) all will go well. Expect a clean, orderly country where all the people we met were gracious and friendly even though we did not speak the same language. In the larger cities more people speak English but we still had no communication problems anywhere. You will be shocked that there are no billboards along the highways, very nice. The cost of purchases will be slightly higher than the US but not too much so, except for fuel. In May the price of deisel was about $1.35 per liter. Right now in the US the price is about .75 to .70 per liter.
While I met an online friend in Hildescheim and we loooked at some villages of my ancestors, I did not do any serious research. I did go to a village founded about 985 named Burgdorf, my surname and met the village historian. We also went to several churches and met with the ministers. All were very hospitable. Generally we traveled south along the Romanic Road to almost Austria and then went northwest to a small village named Dahn. There we met my mother's German family who prepared a BBQ dinner for us and showed us the family tree, back to 1488. Of all those we met only one spoke English but we had no trouble communicating.
I'm sure you will have a wonderful visit, even though the Germany lost in the World Cup.
I am unable to give you much info even though my ggrandmother was born in Berlin. I got her data from the Family Search site from records copied at the Dom in Berlin.
Have a great visit, stay out of the left lane (except to pass) and exude American friendliness.
Max