Early morning, 5 May 2010, at "Staromak" (Old Town Square), on the 65th anniversary of the 3-day Prague Uprising against the German army in 1945, which ended in a ceasefire one day before the Russian army's arrival. For political reasons, US military forces led by General Patton, although much closer to Prague (20 km south), were forced to remain near Plsen, in eastern Bohemia, until the Russians could arrive to "liberate" Prague (returning to occupy Czecho-Slovakia themselves a mere 23 years later).

I suspect the Americans under Patton were perhaps relieved to rest for a few days in the city that perfected beer (way back in the Middle Ages) in a country that perfected supermodels (in the 1980s -- i.e., Paulina Porizkova), despite knowing that the Germans could have been driven out sooner, if not for political reasons. 

Photos by Jason Mashak