I took an overnight train between 2 European cities - don't make the same mistake I did

I took an overnight train to travel from one European city to another, and it was definitely a unique experience. is pretty easy and cheap, and in April this year, I visited seven cities and didn't take one flight, even from the UK to the continent. One of the trains took me 16 hours and travelled through four countries.

It's safe to say that I was nervous for this journey. Sleeping on a couchette in a small cabin with two other people (one of whom was a stranger), I wasn't sure how well I would sleep-or if I would sleep at all. However, sleep wasn't the issue. For me, it was how cramped the cabin was, resulting in things getting lost among the clutter. The main mistake I made when taking this overnight train across Europe was not separating the things I would need on the train from all my other luggage.

The train I took brought me from to Prague, Czechia. Departing just after 7pm in the evening and arriving at my destination at 11am the next day, I spent quite a bit of time on this journey, so I made sure to have a deck of cards, fully-charged earphones and a couple of .

But my mistake was that I had all of these in a backpack with all of my other items. Eventually, some things went missing, and I managed to leave behind a necklace and a pair of sunglasses on the train after getting off in .

I overestimated how easily I would be able to keep my things organised, given such a small space that I was sharing with two other people. Once a few things are taken out of the bag to reach essentials like a toothbrush and face wash, it's easy to miss them when repacking. When this happens a number of times, it's more likely to lose things, which is unfortunately what happened to me.

However, with the knowledge I have now, I would definitely go on this journey again, but I would make sure my things are more organised so that I don't lose them.

In terms of sleeping on the train, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The couchette I was on wasn't the most comfortable. In fact, it was rather hard. But after enough reading, I was able to sleep despite the noise of the train and the occasional shaking.

Plus, waking up to sunny views of rural as we travelled towards our destination of Prague made for a lovely way to start the day. Additionally, train staff provide you with a little breakfast box (which contains bread, butter, a yoghurt and snacks) at around 8am.

As well as being more organised, I would definitely consider bringing my own pillow if I were to take an overnight train through Europe again. I wasn't so uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep, but it's safe to say that I did wake up with a bit of a creaky neck.

I booked my overnight train journey from Brussels to Prague on the European Sleeper website. There are three options when you book the train. You can book the cheapest option, which is just a seat.

We went for the 'sleeper' but were downgraded to the couchettes, which are designed to sleep five people. It was already crowded with just three of us, so I can't imagine making that journey while sharing the tiny space with four other people.