I spent 2 weeks backpacking across Europe for the first time. I loved it, but made 5 mistakes I won't repeat on my next adventure.

In October 2022, I took a two-week backpacking trip through four European countries. I traveled by train from Berlin to Vienna, Venice, Rome, Milan, and Zürich, spending one to two nights in each city.

My trip was amazing. Experiencing new cultures while navigating foreign places inspired me to explore and challenged me to be adaptable.

While I took the trip of a lifetime, I also faced daily challenges and small problems at each step of the way. Often, I made mistakes before I learned what I should do differently next time.

Most of all, this trip reminded me that the world is so much bigger than me and I'll never run out of new things to discover. I'm certain I'll backpack in Europe again, but there are a few things I'll do differently next time to make my trip easier and more enjoyable.

Here are the biggest insights I took away for this type of travel, and the mistakes I won't soon repeat.

I wanted to spend my trip seeing as much of Europe as possible. Since I was going for two weeks, I thought one or two nights in each city would help me make the most of my trip by allowing me to see a variety of places in a short time.

But instead, I found myself wishing I visited fewer locations and spent more time each place.

From stunning architecture to rich histories, these cities impressed me upon arrival. With less than 48 hours to explore each destination, I was only able to hit the top tourist highlights, like the Colosseum in Rome.

I didn't have a chance to dive deeper into what life in each city was really like. If I had more time, I would have cruised on Lake Zürich, shopped in Milan, or gone to a night club in Berlin.

Next time I'm only traveling to Europe for two weeks, I'll pick a couple of cities, say Berlin and Vienna, and spend a full week immersing myself in their art scenes, night life, local cuisine, and history.

This was my first time traveling for two weeks with just a backpack, and getting used to carrying it around was challenging. I thought I packed pretty light, but it felt heavy on my back and made me a third larger than I usually am, making it hard to travel through crowds.

Looking back, I think I could have packed even lighter to avoid some of this strain.

I brought around 10 pairs of socks since I was worried about not having enough time to wash and dry them at each location. But I found that two nights was plenty of time to dry my thickest socks, so next time I'll bring half as many pairs.

I packed a maxi dress for days when I wanted to dress formally. But apart from different jackets over top, my dress looked the same to me every time I wore it. And since it was so long, I thought it took up a significant amount of space in my bag. So next time I'll leave it at home.

I also could have brought half as much film for my camera, as I didn't use it all.

When I travel internationally, I think booking accommodations outside of cities gives me a better sense of life in less-visited areas. But I'll never do it again following an overnight flight.

This was the case when I flew on Norse Atlantic Airways from NYC to Berlin. I opted for a red-eye flight to give me more daylight hours at my destination.

My flight was quiet with many empty seats, but I hardly ever sleep well on planes, and this was no exception. I woke several times through the night. When I arrived in Berlin, I felt completely exhausted due to a lack of sleep, but my travels didn't end there. My Airbnb was in Neustrelitz, a town two hours from the airport by train.

This local journey was one of my most challenging train trips ever. Aside from it being my first two hours in a foreign country, the route from the airport to my Airbnb required two transfers. This meant I had to get off twice at large, busy stations and find the platforms for my next trains. My restless night made all of this feel even more complicated.

Looking back on those two hours, I still can't believe I made it to my Airbnb. But I never want to be in that position again. While most flights from the US to Europe are red-eye flights, according to USA Today, I'll do everything I can to avoid them in the future. And if I can't, I'll be sure to book accommodations near the airport.

My trip included two overnight train rides between Berlin, Vienna, and Venice. I decided to travel through the night to maximize my days in each destination.

For my ride from Berlin to Vienna, I rode in a regular seat in a carriage of six. Though the seats did recline, they didn't lay fully flat, and the small space felt like a tight squeeze for six people with limited legroom. I got zero sleep during this ride and arrived in Vienna at 7 a.m. feeling completely depleted. Instead of spending the day exploring as planned, I frantically booked a last-minute hotel room to nap in near the station.

When I later traveled in a shared sleeper cabin from Vienna to Venice, I was in a shared sleeper car with six bunks. I still felt cramped, but having a lay-flat bed made it a bit easier to sleep. I was still tired when I arrived in Venice, but not nearly as exhausted as I felt when I got to Vienna.

From now on, I'll only book overnight train rides in sleeper cabins with a lay-flat bed.

From booking the wrong accommodations to packing too many socks, my first backpacking trip to Europe wasn't perfect. There also were times when I went to the wrong train station, got caught in the rain, and felt more alone than I was anticipating.

For the first few days of my trip, I dwelled on these mishaps. But focusing on what was going wrong made me feel really negative and spoiled the beginning of my adventure.

So along the way, I made a conscious choice to push through and focus on what I could control, like buying an umbrella for downpours, arriving at train stations early, and contacting my family when I felt lonely. By shifting my focus, I was able to find peace in not knowing exactly what was going to happen and push through these experiences.

Looking back on my trip, my biggest regret was not realizing this sooner. I know I could have enjoyed those first few days so much more if I wasn't feeling so down about my mistakes.

Next time I'm on a red-eye flight to kick off a European adventure, I'll remind myself that everything may not go according to plan, and that's okay. In fact, it might even challenge me to grow.