Originally Posted by
tehiota
Thanks for the help. Glad to know the 'holding on to' is an option, not a requirement.
In hundreds of night train border crossings, it has never, ever been a problem. I HAVE however, been on night trains that didn't cross a border, and hence had my passport with me, and had it (and other things) stolen.
As for hotels, technically it is usually required, but if you pay in advance or provide a credit card, they can usually copy it and hand it back. And that's something else I've done twice -- checked out of the hotel forgetting to reclaim it. But then my brother recently refused to let them hold on to his, so he put them in the room safe... and forgot them on check out.
Anyway, it's normal practice that millions of people do every day -- not sure why you are getting nervous about it.