I was stationed in Germany from 1998 - 2001. I'm an experienced flier so didn't need training, but I can tell you from experience that I could not get anyone to fly my planes because of the different mode transmitters.

I strongly suggest that you do not attempt to fly your plane without an instructor though. You might consider buying a european radio. I've heard multiplex are excellent and much less expensive over there. On top of that, they have a lot of features that "our" radios don't even dream of having. You can have the mode changed by a qualified company.