The last time I went to Europe, I emailed a few bike shops in the city I was going to (Riga, Latvia), and asked if they had any cheaper bikes they would sell me. I told them how tall I am and that I was willing to pay up to 400 euros. One bike shop wrote back, and sold me a very nice mid-90s Gazelle dutch bike for 100 euros. I suppose Europe has more practical bikes than the USA does. It even had a rack, and I brought two Ortlieb bags as my luggage.
The only issue with the bike was the army boot shaped saddle. I brought my least favorite Brooks saddle with me for the bike and gave the original saddle back to the bike shop.
I was inspired by the Norwegian singer, Erlend Oye from Kings of Convenience. He said in an interview that whenever he travels he finds a local thrift store and buys their cheapest guitar. He goes to parties and restaurants with the guitar, enjoys himself, and doesn't worry about it. At the end of the night, if he loses the guitar, it is not a big deal.
Michael