The MSA is by no means a minimum altitude to fly at, when flying VFR. You can go down to 900 ft and not hit any obstacle, since the safety buffer inherent in the MSA is 1000 ft. And you can even go down to below 900 ft and not hit anything. Although if you're not paying attention, the chances of hitting something will increase then.
It's all a matter of situational awareness and taking a good look at the map where the obstacles are that actually define the 1900ft MSA.
Here in the Netherlands, we are severely limited by the Schiphol TMA (class A), which starts at 1500'. Also, somewhere in the grid (SW of Utrecht to be exact) there is a single 1200' TV antenna, which makes the grid MSA 2200'.
If we would insist on flying above the grid MSA at all times, then about 1/5th of the Netherlands would effectively be closed to VFR traffic. Instead, we happily bimble along at 1200' or so, and as long as we stay clear of that single mast, there's nothing to hit whatsoever at that altitude.
In fact, the official advice over here is to remain about 200-300' below the base of CAS. Not just for altitude inaccuracies/errors, but also since a CAS base of 1500' means that traffic is vectored at 2000' (500' above the base), and wake turbulence is known to extend up to 700' below the flight path.
Also, if I do get clearance will they direct me via a specific route or will I be able to choose?
You typically ask for a specific route in your initial call, and more often than not your initial clearance will be along your requested route. But plans change, even in ATC, and I've had revised clearances to obscure VRPs during transits as well. And an "unfamiliar with XXX" from my side simply got me a vector.
The chances of getting cleared on the route you want, and actually being able to fly that route, increase dramatically if you know the typical operations pattern of other traffic in the airspace. If your route takes you straight through the active ILS approach, you'll be in for a lot of messing about. OTOH, if your route leaves you clear of the ILS areas, and for instance cross the overhead perpendicular to the runway at an altitude that doesn't interfere with the missed approach path, then it's much easier for a controller to let you fly your preferred route.
In any case, if you do get a transit through controlled airspace, be prepared that the actual route you get might wreck your plans, and you might exit the airspace at a location which you had not anticipated and not planned for. Without a GPS it's actually very, very easy to get lost this way.