What's Hip in the Balkans?

Conferences and festivals are very important forms for diffusion of knowledge,culture and art, since they give insights into regional or global achievements in one period of time. In the last two decades Balkan Peninsula has become an area with a stunning festival culture.Popular music festival as Sziget in Hungary and Exit in Serbia were established more than 10 years ago,while others like Sonus,Dimensions,Hartera in Croatia and Horizon in Bulgaria are emerging festivals with forward-thinking music program.If you like sunny beaches,boat parties,pool parties,cocktails,dancing with strangers,underground electronic music try not to miss Sonus festival on Pag, Dimensions in Pula,Hartera in Rijeka,Refresh in Kotor and Southernsoul festival in Ulcinj. Here you can listen to prominent artists from the global scene as: Nina Kraviz, Dixon, Jazzanova, DJ Hell and many others.Don’t forget that both Montenegro and Croatia are small states located on the beautiful shore of the Adriatic Sea.So, visiting old town of Budva,Perast,Porto Montenegro in Tivat,Sveti Stefan Island,Krk,Cres and Brijuni where popular tourist attractions marshal Tito's villa and museum are situated is a “must”.You will find very interesting sacral architecture,lot of “ghost stories”,healthy sea food and beautiful beaches, my recommendation is a small private one called “Bajova kula” and "Milocer",situated in the Kotor bay.And if you are not a seaside type of a person,but you like music than a perfect place for you is Bonsko ski resort in Bulgaria.On your way through the Balkans be sure to visit Serbia,one of the oldest European countries which suffered a lot in the last 3 decades,but nowadays is slowly rising from the ashes.Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, became a very trendy city lately.This capital offers international festivals as Resonate, October salon, Mikser,Belgrade beer fest, FEST,many fusion bites and culture restaurants, diverse architecture ranging from baroque to modernism, Savalamala creative district,barges on the river serving as cafeterias and wild nightlife.Try to check out stunning architectural piece called Macura museum in Novi Banovci near Belgrade,where you have opportunity to become familiar with one of the largest private collections of modern art in the region of south-east Europe. that comprises the works of 20th century avant-garde artists, with much focus on early 20th century movements such as Dada,Zenithism, Surrealism,Viennese activism, etc.