Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.

I really would like the listeners to realize that 1989 was miraculous year, I think, in European

history. This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.

Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join our emailing list at cold warconversations.com.

Mark Baker is an independent journalist and travel writer who's lived in Central Europe for more than two decades.

He loves the history, literature, culture and mystery of this often overlooked corner of Europe

and makes his living writing articles and guidebooks about the region.

Do visit his excellent Eastern Europe blog, which contains a number of Cold War

stories. Now, I'm sure you know that some of our fans are helping the podcast financially,

so if you'd like to join this select band, then head over to cold warconversations.com

slash donate for the price of a couple of coffees a month.

You help to cover our increasing costs and keep us on the air.

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So back to today's episode, Mark was a journalist in Vienna who covered Czechoslovakia

during the 1980s and in a wide-ranging conversation we discussed the events of 1989 with Mark

providing some vivid accounts of his experiences and how events are viewed at the time.

I'm delighted to welcome back Mark Baker to Cold War Conversations.

The whole of 1989, I was working as a journalist in Vienna.

We were working as a 10-man team in Vienna.

We were a subsidiary of the Economist Group,

the British Economist magazine

and the affiliated publications.

...