Seth,
Based on your post, I'm assuming you have a quad-band, unlocked GSM Phone?
As mentioned in previous replies, some here have been successful obtaining SIM's in various European countries. However, probably due to anti-terrorism regulations, this seems to be increasingly difficult without E.U. identification (especially for data plans!).
You have a couple of options. You could certainly continue to try obtaining SIM's in Europe, especially at shops in the airport as they may be a bit more "forgiving" in issuing these to tourists. However, note that if you use the phone outside the country where the SIM was issued, you'll be roaming and the rates will be higher. You'll also have to deal with the issue of "topping-up".
Another option you might consider would be to use a SIM from one of the travel phone firms, such as Roam Simple, Call In Europe, Cellular Abroad, Telestial or Mobal. These firms generally use phone plans based in either the U.K. or perhaps Lichtenstein. The rates are consistent regardless of which country you're travelling in. Also, these are usually post-paid plans, which means no worries about topping-up or running out of minutes in the middle of a call. The charges are billed to a credit card, usually at the end of the month, after they've received the summary of charges from the Euro cell network(s). Check the respective websites and have a look at the plans and rates.
I frequently use texting while travelling, and it's a great way to keep the costs down. I don't have a problem staying under the 160-character limit. I only use a basic "flip" so the display isn't large enough to easily accomodate 891 characters anyway, and the displays of the recipient phones would also have a problem handling a large message.
Happy travels!
