Hi /r/SoloTravel!

I'm planning my first solo trip and decided on meandering around Europe for about 2.5ish weeks of July. I was hoping y'all could critique my plans or give some insight to a new traveler.

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Details of which some may be unnecessary

M24 in Philly. I'd probably fly out of JFK/Newark

No true budget. I tend to stay frugal, but since this is new territory (literally) for me, I'm willing to pay what I need to to get around. Ideally, I'd stay under 2k for the whole endeavor, but I've got flexibility.

Leave around July 2/3, be back by July 20th

I'd probably take a one-way flight to my furthest eastern city, backpack westward until wherever I decide to catch a flight back home from.

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Places I'd like to visit

Amsterdam

Budapest

Prague sounds cool

I've heard good things about Istanbul

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Things I want to see/Do

Big on natural sights - parks, trails, climbing large hills, etc.

People watching / observing local culture

Architecture /historical buildings are neat

Unless it's really recommended, I don't care for most 'tourist' things

Make a joke about a hidden treasure chest

Apparently the nightlife/clubbing life is really active in Eastern Europe - it's not my scene but something I'd like to see/experience

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Proposed Route (added some potential pit stops along the way, suggestions on additions/removals are welcome):
Istanbul -> Budapest -> Vienna? -> Prague -> Something in Germany? -> Brussels? -> Amsterdam

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As of this post, a flight from JFK to Istanbul is about $600

A flight from Istanbul to Budapest is about $125 (too far of a distance to not take a flight in my time constraints)

The rest of the travel would be by train. My current idea is getting a EUrail pass for 10 or so days. I've read some conflicting opinions on getting a pass vs buying individual tickets though

Flight from Amsterdam back to JFK - ~$600

(Is that a lot? Is there a certain time you've found is best to book flights?)

Using this period of high expenses to get a new credit card as well, I'm slightly more comfortable paying a little more knowing it's going to bank me a solid chunk of promotional points I can use towards a future trip. I'd still like to reduce those costs if possible though.

Accommodation wise, my plan is to stay at hostels for basically the entire trip. Maybe a day in a hotel if I'm really craving some privacy/personal space/pampering. Is this something that should be booked in advance, or something I can just tackle whenever I arrive to each city? If you have stayed in hostels, what did it cost? Obviously this changes based on the COL of each city, but I would love to get input on what people budgeted.

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Cell Service / Internet - I haven't looked into this quite yet, but I think I'd either temporarily upgrade my existing plan, or get a pay per month service for the time I'm there.

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I'm generally good keeping to myself, but in the spirit of trying new things: have any of you had success finding/meeting up with strangers for a day ? I know some hostels have group activities available. Re-installing Tinder/Bumble also crossed my mind to find people to do random shit with.

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What do y'all think? Am I falling into any newbie pitfalls? Anything you think I should be weary of? One of my concerns is trying to go to too many places at once. 2.5 weeks feels like it will be a long time, but traveling in between cities is going to eat into quite a bit of that. I'm also not sure how long I'd stay in each place. I assume that will depend on how I'm feeling once I'm there.

If there's other places you'd like to propose instead of what I have listed I'd love to hear them!