Itinerary for Bavaria and Czeck Republic

Your son has picked great places to visit! I will offer one place that might be worth adding to a young man's schedule and is unlike anything on the itinerary. Eisriesenwelt is an ice cave at Werfen, a short train ride from Salzburg. It is otherworldly. This overview gives you an idea of what a visit entails, including the walk/hike up to the cave (with nice views of the surrounding mountains) and the 70-minute walk through the cave (with lots of stairs!). I met a group of backpacking students from the University of Minnesota there who prioritized Eisriesenwelt as their one stop as they traveled between Prague and Slovenia. So, it has appeal to college kids. Hohenwerfen is a castle at Werfen that is an option, too, but your itinerary already includes multiple castles/fortresses, so I don't think the castle would add much to your trip.

Where to fit it in? I would think about going straight to Munich after mass at Ettal Monastery and starting the Munich walks that day; then think about leaving Munich a day early.

Eagle's Nest will give you an excellent chance to see mountains, too... hopefully on a sunny day!

I agree with you that the Rick Steves city walks are great.

I would definitely go for the Augustiner Brau experience in Salzburg. Watch a YouTube video or two before hand to see how the beer routine goes.

Concentration camps are depressing. If you want to see two in 15 days, go for it. But for me, one day of depression would be more than adequate.

I love history and thought Konopiste was super cool.

For RS walks in Prague, I combined the Rick Steves Old Town Walk with the Wenceslas Square walk (he tells how to combine in the Prague guide).

For Prague, I also cannot recommend highly enough watching the Honest Guide videos on YouTube. They give so much insight into more off-the-beaten-path kinds of places to see in Prague and around Prague. I integrated some of their recommendations into my Rick Steves walks.

If you are interested, what I did with eight days in Prague. If it's in your budget, consider a food tour in Prague. I mention my favorite of three I did in the trip report.

In Cesky Krumlov, be sure to visit the Baroque Theater tour...Eng. tour at 10a.m. ( the castle tour is a bit secondary IMO)
Add Papa's Living Restaurant.

Sidenote: a cheaper option than the shuttle is FLIX bus from Salzburg (south) to CK. At the moment, price is just under $25

Thank you very much! I really appreciate the great thoughts, and I am definitely going to research what you suggest. It's hard to not feel overwhelmed sometimes with all the options.

It's a good thought about the concentration camps. I will ask him about it.

We are a family that loves history! The kids were doomed, since my husband and I both are really interested in all kinds of history. In fact, my oldest daughter is now an archaeologist, and my son (this is his trip) is getting a history minor because he took so many history classes, even though he is a physics major.

Some people think that so much history stuff is weird for a boy in his early 20s, but this is literally what he asked to see! :)

Thanks again!

I forgot to ask...
Konopiste has a couple of different tour options. Do you have a suggestion as to which ones are better? Or does it just depend on your interests? I have looked them up a few times, and I'm still not sure which to prioritize, since we only have a few hours.

And great info on CK as well. I will check out the shuttle and those locations.

Thanks!

I totally get the love of history. I love it, too.

For me, Konopišté was all about seeing the residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. I'm a bit of a fan of the Archduke. He deeply loved his wife, the Habsburg-hated Sophie. I've stood where he was shot in Sarajevo, and I've seen the car and the clothes in which he was shot in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Military History) in Vienna. My trip to the castle was done as a daytrip from Prague to both the castle and to Tabor, so my time there was limited, too. I only had time for one tour, so I picked Tour #3 -- "Private apartments of Franz Ferdinand d'Este family" -- which lined up with my interests. The total number of people on my (Czech language) tour? One. The guide walked me through as I played the tour on English audio guide 🙂. I loved that tour. I geeked out over standing in a room where Franz Joseph slept. Other people were at the castle taking other tours. The Armoury certainly looks cool.

All that to say... it's probably about what is interesting to you.

A small recommendation for Prague: Knihkupectví Karolinum. A bookstore of Charles University about half-way between Powder Tower and Old Town Square. A decent collection of English books to the right after entering the bookstore. A Kafka book bought in Prague is a nice memento.

I've toured Konopiste several times... I find the chapel and armoury to be highlights. Tour #2

(Like most castles.. much of the furniture is replicas or not original.)

Keep in mind, it was a hunting area and they mounted everything they caught/killed.