Dazed, depleted, and desperate to doze — this isn't how I wanted to feel when I set foot in Vienna for the first time. But I couldn't help it. It was 7 a.m. after a sleepless night on an overnight train.
This was in October 2022, when I took a two-week backpacking trip across four European countries (Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland) that included a red-eye flight and two sleeper train rides. I decided to travel through the night to maximize my days in each destination, but I quickly learned that prioritizing my rest was crucial to having a good time.
On the train from Berlin to Vienna, I rode in a regular seat in a six-passenger carriage. Though the seats reclined, they didn't lie fully flat, and the small space felt like a tight squeeze for six people with limited legroom. I got zero sleep during the 12-hour ride.
I'd planned to spend my morning seeing the sights around Vienna until I could check in to my Airbnb at 3 p.m. But as I stepped off the train, it was apparent that my body needed rest.
I started going into nearby hotels to book a room. By the third hotel, I got one. I had to pay for the whole night even though I was only taking a nap, but I thought it was worth the price for a safe, comfortable place to rest.
Without rest, traveling is a drag
This backpacking mistake taught me an important lesson: Sleep makes everything better. And if I don't take time to rest, my body will force me to — even in the least convenient times.
In Vienna, that last-minute hotel booking changed everything. When I first got to the city, I didn't even pay attention to how it looked or felt, because I was too tired.
But after some much-needed rest, I was able to appreciate where I was and take in the unique architecture surrounding me. Walking to my Airbnb after my nap, I remembered why I was there and felt a new wave of excitement about my travels.
Getting sleep also made me feel more in touch with what my body needed. As soon as I woke up in the hotel, I chugged my water bottle while trying to remember the last time I had anything to drink. I realized that I must have been so dehydrated. From that point on, I took every opportunity to make sure my bottle was always full.
When visiting a new country for just a couple of days, it's easy to pack exploration into every hour without planning for rest. But without it, I find it's not enjoyable. Keeping myself in good health became a priority for the remainder of my trip — and all my travels since.
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Joey Hadden is a travel reporter and photojournalist at Business Insider based in NYC. She covers transportation modes, alternative lifestyles, and luxury travel. Many of Joey's stories are visual features that give readers a front-row seat to her personal experiences at home and around the world.Joey graduated from St. Edward's University in May 2019 with a BA in Photocommunications. Since joining BI in 2019, Joey has traveled by train in seven different countries, from day trips to overnight rides as long as 30 hours. She's ridden on many different train lines, including Amtrak, Via Rail, and the iconic Orient Express of the 21st century, among others. During her travels, she's slept in countless accommodations — five-star hotels, unique tiny homes, and private train cabins, to name a few.When traveling in North America, Joey takes readers inside the continent's wealthiest enclaves where billionaires hide away, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Medina, Washington. She spends her free time singing and playing drums for the indie-rock band Blanket Approval. You can follow Joey on Instagram or send her an email at [email protected].Popular ArticlesI spent $1,000 to have a room to myself on a 30-hour Amtrak ride. It was the best experience I've had on an overnight train in the US.I booked basic economy flights with Delta and United. They felt like 2 completely different classes.I went on an adults-only cruise for the first time, and 8 things surprised meI spent 2 nights in a 2-story, 100-square-foot tiny home in Germany that was smaller than any I've seen in the USStep inside the richest city in Arizona, where wealthy Californians are flocking for private mountainside estates
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