My wife, Vera, was born in Prague. I travelled there six times in even numbered years from 1988-1998. In 1989, during the peaceful "Velvet Revolution", the communist government was toppled by Vaclav Havel's democratically elected government. We experienced the vagaries of the communist bureaucracy in 1988: a rather gray society (punctuated by red banners proclaiming solidarity with Russia); the police kept a record of where we were staying; currency exchange of dollars for essentially worthless koruna; a glass-making country with little glass to buy in stores. The main bookstore stocked three books in English (including one on Chinese farming techniques). Prague's magnificent buildings fell into disrepair.

By 1990, Prague came alive. In subway stations, books and pamphlets of all kinds were available; property was being returned to the families from whom the communists had taken it; people were starting businesses. Tourists started to arrive. Soon, the question was how to manage so many tourists and to maintain Prague's beauty. The businesses were still owned by local people.

By the mid-90's, Prague was a thriving international city and a "must see" stop in Europe, hosting many millions of visitors annually. Buildings had passed back into private hands and were aggressively restored, painted so brightly that parts of the city looked like Disneyland. By 1998, I saw the first high end designer store. Prague had become just another beautiful European destination.

The first thirty photographs were scanned, having been taken in the pre-digital age. The photos after that were taken during my return trips in August 2015 and June 2018.

I wrote an e-book "Prague Memories" which is available on Amazon Kindle for $2.99. These pictures illustrate the book.