Disappointing photos show what it’s really like to backpack across Europe

Business Insider’s reporter expected an Instagram-like backpacking adventure in Europe, but the reality was much less glamorous.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I spent two weeks backpacking through Europe for the first time in October 2022.
I found that it wasn’t the glamorous, romantic adventure that it often looks like on Instagram.
While backpacking, I was disappointed by overnight train rides and crowds of tourists in each city.

With a passion for fashion, traveling with just a backpack never appealed to me before 2022. There were always too many things I wanted to pack.

But since I began traveling more as a travel reporter for Business Insider three years ago, I’ve realized I needed to lighten my load to make it easier to hit the road for longer periods of time.

I made the minimalist travel style a priority in August 2022, when I spent a week backpacking for the first time through Eastern Canada. It turned out to be a lot easier — and more efficient — than I’d originally thought.

So when I planned a two-week train trip through four European countries two months later, I decided to push myself to fit everything I needed into my backpack again.

Over the course of two weeks, I backpacked across Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland while exploring the cities of Berlin, Vienna, Venice, Rome, Milan, and Zürich. It was my first time visiting each country and backpacking in Europe.

As part of my travels, I slept in shared train cabins and budget Airbnbs, and initially, I felt like I was living the life of young adults on a gap year, or post-college students on a big adventure.

But I quickly realized it wasn’t as glamorous as I expected it to be based on stories I’d heard from other people, or more commonly, pictures I saw on social media.

On Instagram, I’ve often seen epic photos of an empty nature scene save for the backpackers with a caption about life being an adventure.

But after backpacking Europe myself, I found that the travel style was full of hardships I rarely see posts about.

First, I found that my biggest backpack couldn’t squeeze in all the clothes I wanted to bring.

The authors laundry in Germany (left), Austria (top), and Italy (bottom).

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I’ve never seen a backpacking social media post about doing laundry, but I found myself washing my clothes at nearly every Airbnb I stayed in.

I stayed in each accommodation for just one or two nights, so to ensure my clothes would be dry before checking out, I had to prioritize doing laundry as soon as I checked in.

I brought my own laundry soap and used sinks and bathtubs to wash each garment before hanging them up to dry.

This was a bummer since I often arrived at each accommodation feeling exhausted from travel, and washing my clothes was the last thing I felt like doing.

Coming home to tiny Airbnbs with wet clothes everywhere stressed me out after a day of exploring.

The author rides a Nightjet sleeper train in Europe.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I booked two overnight trains during my trip. I thought this would be the best way to travel through Europe so I could explore more during the day.

But the small, uncomfortable spaces I had to travel in for long periods of time made it hard to sleep.

To get from Vienna to Venice, I booked a bunk in a shared cabin on an overnight train run by Nightjet, a rail line that operates overnight routes between Austria, Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

Since I booked a shared room with up to five other people, I expected to feel a little cramped, but I anticipated being able to move around the room freely.

However, I found that the 74-square-foot cabin didn’t feel like enough space for myself and the other travelers, especially with everyone’s luggage. Our cabin only had four people in it, and I thought it would have been even more uncomfortable had it been fully booked with six people.

There was space for bags above the beds, but not enough for everyone. I couldn’t do much more than sit in my bunk and quickly became disappointed by my choice to travel in this way.

I was also surprised by the lack of privacy inside the shared bunk cabin on the train.

The author felt restless on an overnight train from Germany to Austria.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

On my other overnight train from Berlin to Vienna, I had an even harder time sleeping. I sat in a seating carriage room with six seats facing each other, which is Nightjet’s version of standard coach seating.

During my leg of the journey, three travelers were already there when I boarded, and two others arrived within the first few hours. Right away, I thought the room was cramped and lacked enough legroom for each traveler.

The seat appeared slightly wider than a typical train coach seat, with two cushions, and reclined far enough to almost lay flat, but not fully. I reclined mine all the way, but I thought the gap between the seat back and the bottom of the seat made it tough to get comfortable.

When I tried to sleep, I found it impossible with the constant bumps on the ride and so many people around. I ended up staying up until the morning and regretted traveling overnight.

“The quality of travel depends not only on the carriages, but also on the route,” OBB Nightjet wrote in a statement to BI. “We recommend the sleeper or couchette car for night travel. There is enough space to stretch out. Seated carriages are recommended for shorter journeys.”

While some influencers might like this type of travel, next time, I’ll stick to daytime routes if I can’t sleep flat on a bed in a private room.

I often arrived in each country feeling exhausted from lack of sleep, which made it harder to enjoy my time in each place.

The author sores her back from carrying her bag.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

On travel days, I had to carry my backpack for long periods of time. I wore it on the go to catch my train. When I arrived in a new city, I had to keep it on my back until I was able to check into my accommodation. And then I’d repeat the entire process when I checked out before catching a train to my next destination.

I’ve certainly never seen any Instagram posts about these bags being comfortable. Each day, after wearing my backpack while walking for extended periods, all of my muscles felt incredibly sore.

In these moments, I was surprised to find myself questioning if a backpack really is more convenient than a carry-on suitcase. Sure, a carry-on suitcase is larger and often needs to be wheeled around, but after lugging around my backpack all day, I felt like it could be easier to roll a suitcase around, and it would have been better for my body. Plus, I’d be able to pack more.

Large crowds made having a backpack even harder. I thought traveling in October — the end of shoulder season — would help me avoid this, but I was wrong.

The author backpacks in Europe.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

While there were a handful of hardships, I found that backpacking in Europe was full of good surprises, too.

For example, I initially thought seeing so many new places in a short time would make them blend together in my mind, but each city felt genuinely unique and left me with distinct memories. And without my backpack, I probably wouldn’t have been able to travel to as many places in one trip.

I’ll never forget how alive Berlin felt with its lush pockets of greenery, dramatic murals, and street performers, or how Vienna’s garden mazes and fairy tale architecture made me feel like royalty — even with a turtle shell on my back.

Ultimately, I thought the good surprises outweighed the bad, so I would definitely backpack in Europe again. But next time, I’ll avoid shared accommodations, overnight rides, and the busy season.

Read the original article on Business Insider

source:https://www.businessinsider.com/backpacking-europe-what-its-like-disappointing-photos-2023-3