As a day excursion during our trip to Prague , we visited the spa town of Karlovy Vary , or, more commonly, Carlsbad . After piling into a mini-bus with three other couples, one English, one Scottish, and one Spanish, everyone realized we were American, (perhaps due to our tendency to be a bit oversized!!), and thus we became something of a novelty in the group. It was okay with me as everyone was pleasant. After an hour or so we arrived on the outskirts of K.V. and our initial impression was under whelmed. Nothing special, even a bit run down as a remnant of the late unpleasantness. The very elderly tour guide advised us to be patient as we entered some winding roads, then, suddenly, this wonderful, multicolored town in a tree covered valley opened up before us. We took a pleasant walk along the river, viewing the town, tasting the hot spring water, as is the custom. Aside from the physical beauty of the place, two memories stood out for us. As we walked along, we noticed a small memorial marker dedicated to the U.S. Army, specifically the 1 st Infantry Division. While reading the inscription, our guide filled us in to the real story of the thing. It seems that for many years, from a few years after WW2 until the Czech “Velvet Revolution” in the 1990s, the official history was the town was liberated in 1945 by the Soviet red army. It was taught in schools, and everybody took it as fact. Well, as it turned out, the town of Karlovy Vary was in fact liberated from the Nazis by the “Big Red One” of the U.S. army. The memorial was erected soon after the war, but was dismantled by the soviet regime when they took over. After the Czech Republic shook off the communist era, town elders insisted the memorial be reinstalled to show gratitude to the Americans. The second memory was the tour guide herself. We forgot her name, but she was elderly, maybe 80 years old, and had a daughter involved with the Olympics. At the tour sponsored lunch my wife and I sat with her and she told several stories of her experiences dating back before the war, during Nazi rule, and under communist rule. How, due to her daughter’s role with the Olympics, the Czech secret service kept her family under surveillance, how they were denied travel visas, good jobs, etc. They were truly heartbreaking stories, but in the end, she felt the suffering was worth it, as her daughter was now in the U.S. and Prague was in a period of rebirth. We took the stories at face value, and at one time, they moved my wife to tears. The time in Karlovy Vary was short, but memorable.