The twelve months of 1979 have a different meaning for everyone. In what was then Czechoslovakia, the price of gasoline rose due to the global energy crisis, as did clothing for children or telecommunications services. The extended winter holidays were unforgettable for those who witnessed, because there were long frosts. And unpleasant memories are probably carried by all those who got jaundice from Polish strawberries.

In short, each of us experienced the year 1979 differently, even though life did not offer too many possibilities for the Czechs. The Communists were said to be here forever, and people accepted that. They got used to many "symptoms of socialism", they didn't think it was strange that bribes were being paid, that many things were not available and that queues stood for beef and Hrabal.

Somehow it worked, and people forgot about socialist woes by hanging out or listening to music, going to Semafor or Cimrmany, simply places where decent people could still perform in public. In addition, our psychological immunity was saved by humor as always. Although the nation lived in a kind of internal mental emigration, we still managed to be merry, laugh, drink and then sober up. How was your 1979? Reminisce with us, whether you were born in this year or remember it.