Dear Reader,

Einen frohen Leichnam to you all ;-)

I am in the city of Bamberg at the moment and stopped for a beer at a Keller on the outskirts of town after a long day’s hiking in the Fränkische Schweiz. 

When I came to order my second beer (ein Dunkles), the barman asked whether I was British. When I replied in the affirmative, he told me that he was born in the UK, before landing in Bamberg via Florida. “I’m stuck here” was his less than jovial assessment of his situation.

His father was a US soldier and he’d grown up on US bases around Europe and the US. He is a reminder that American soldiers and their offspring have put down roots in various somewhat obscure locations across Europe, even as the power of their country has receded in recent decades.

Many Germans might not be able to point to Bamberg on a map (which would be a shame as it is the most picturesque town in the country) but for thousands of US citizens it is named on their passports as their place of birth.

The US military h…