The author describes his emotions based on his post-doc year in Prague in 1968: first, joy and hope during the Prague Spring and then the brutal events of August, 1968 when Soviet tanks entered the heart of Europe. Thereafter, the communists supressed free thought until the Velvet Revolution of 1989 put the country back on the road to democracy. A brief personal view is presented on the beauty of Prague and on cultural life in the Czech Republic. Finally, national days in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are noted, bearing in mind certain anniversaries over the last century. Words heard on Radio Prague in August of 1968 have remained with the author for his entire subsequent life: ‘We are with you, be with us!’