I keep one day on my rail pass for the last day of my trip s you can use it in case you get stranded in a closed train station and they want to kick you out. (That happened in Marseille, France)
I check out travel books from the library before purchasing them cheaply on the internet. Then I rip out the pages I want and store them in ziplock bags marked by country so they stay dry and are easy to identify when I need them.
I always take a quick dry travel when I leave as it always comes in ahndy.