Hi Berthold,
The 'stern to' thing in the Med isn't a rule as such. I've seen people totally forget about good seamanship just in order to try and do what the locals do and not actually think what they are doing.
Locals usually do things for a very good reason and as far as I know the 'stern to' manoeuvre is due to where the anchor is placed on the boat.
There's no reason you can't put an anchor from your stern, in fact as many places have mooring lines set up instead of you anchoring, there's even less reason to go 'stern to'.
I remember some locals in Croatia(Ok, technically not the Med) going 'bow to' when there was a bit of a blow. It means you are less likely to hit the foundations supporting the quay and any possible sand, rock that might be slopping down from the quay wall. Great Danes have a perfect underside shape for 'bow to' mooring.
As Callum says, locals will appreciate good seamanship even if it's not their way. As long as you proceed safely and don't do any damage, you should be ok. In fact, you might even find that some locals might addopt your way of doing things, once they see the ease with which you do your manoeuvres.
As Olivia said, you will also benefit from a bit more privacy going 'bow to' and you'll need some protection from the locals throwing water-balloons at you whilst you will be celebrating Germany winning. ;-)
The only down side might be having to climb over your pullpit but then, that could prove itself to be handy having something solid to grab when climbing onboard.
Enjoy your holidays! I'm dead jealous. :-)
John
P.S. I've yet to master reversing Jasrah. I know that having wind in your stern makes it a little easier. So far, I've managed to go forward everywhere I need as I can now pretty much turn the boat on the spot. Having the throttle and gears on the same lever really helps turning with the 'prop walk'.