Does this mean that most people just do sightseeing flights and land back where they took off?
Again, I cannot speak for the UK. But over here in BE, I observe most pilots flying either their usual local flight - from departure field to the same destination field, along the same usual well-known en-route waypoints - or extend on that pattern with the one usual en-route stop, often one with a good restaurant. Only a minority will take the adventure of flying to unknown destinations. Myself only tried a few times, but always found the experience lovely.
Or is permission easy enough to come by that trips are possible?
On regular "airfields" it is not an issue generally, but even then... I remember intending to fly from EBZH to EBTX, duly calling Theux for PPR, only to get for an answer that their runway had been dug up by boars the previous night, so they had to deny, much to their regret. On top of that, though, the UK is stiff with farm strips, but most of them severely restricted - the crux being that the UK, like most of Western Europe, is quite densely inhabited, leaving ever less space for recreational greenspace like aerodromes. More and more "old style" fields in the UK are under pressure of "re-development" for housing projects.
On a general note, though, @md123, you seem to be open to differences, and willing to live and learn and act up to them, and that is the main point. You make me feel sure you will have a good time in Europe, being able to cope with variance, possibly even enjoying. One nice thing about this queer globe of us is that it isn't the same everywhere
