Don't Miss Belgrade Summer Festival (BELEF) 2015

Belgrade Summer Festival, known as BELEF has just started! Belef is annul manifestation that takes place in Belgrade from the 21st of June to the 25th of July on various locations. 

Concerts and theater plays, dance and visual arts within BELEF program will be held in several city locations from the main stage in the yard of Captain Miša’s Mansion, Kolarac, House of King Peter, Student Park, Republic Square, Knez Mihailova Street and Cultural Center Vuk Karadžić. Tickets can be purchased at the info center of Tourism Organization of Belgrade in Knez Mihailova. Price range from 200 to 500 dinars. For pleasent stay in Belgrade we suggest our company City Break Apartments. 

This festival exists for almost two and a half decades. This year's edition of Belef will be interesting, diverse and dynamic with wide range of genres. A special features of Belef 2015 are different locations that will maintain programs - announced  director Milan Lazovic.

Don’t miss theater play The Blues Brothers, directed by local actor Ivan Jevtović. The premier of this stage piece is scheduled for the 29th of June at the open-air stage of Mikser House – Miksalište.

Visual art exhibition – Transformers will be presented before the beginning of the BELEF festival as part of the Belef introduction program and it will be on display in the center of the city during entire summer. During the supporting program Belef Plus and supported by the Embassy of Israel in Belgrade, the audience will have the opportunity to see a theater play Our Class by the troupe Kemeri from Tel Aviv, directed by Hanan Snir.

On Tuesday, the 21st of July (at 20:30 h) in the yard of Captain Miša’s Mansion percussion duo made of both young and talented Ksenija Komljenovic and  Miloš Branisavljević will perform within Multiversity Sessions program. 

In case you need accommodation in Belgrade, our company offers cozy apartments in downtown. City Break operates very successful for many years and provides very affordable accommodation in Belgrade. 

Where Can You Eat in Belgrade?

Be sure that you won't stay hungry in this city. Dinning culture has always been rich in Serbia, as well as in Belgrade. Locals usually eat in bakeries and kiosks, and sometimes in kafanas and restaurants. The most famous breakfast is burek (cheese or a meat pie) with yogurt. It's a hungover killer. Very tasty and full of fat. Belgrade isn't very vegan friendly. Serbs are big meat lovers and the most of Serbian traditional cuisine is consisted of meat. 

On kiosks Serbs usually buy kebabs, pljeskavica and sausages. There're different kinds, such as: gurmanska pljeskavica (stuffed with cheese and bacon) , leskovacka pljeskavica(with hot pepper) , sarajevski cevap (small kebabs with onion and mustard)..etc. Those are the specialties. 

The best places to try Serbian traditional dishes are kafanas-traditional restaurants. The most famous ones are situated in Skadarska street in the city centre. Skadarska was a bohemian hang-out of artists, writers and poets in the early 20th century. Today this well-known cobbled street is a home of numerous restaurants and bars, such as: Dva Jelena, Sesir moj, Zlatni Bokal, Putujuci Glumac, Skadarlija, Red bar and so on. 

We would recommend kafana "Dva Jelena" (2 Deer) which enjoys tradition over 150 years. It looks as old wooden village house with two open air gardens.   Menus for which kafana got famous were created in the 1921 and 1928 by the chef Zarko Dačić. Noazete for two persons (fillet, mushrooms, brains on grill, sauce of cream and bones), steak Čika Đura,various medallions (with mushrooms, grilled on Skadar way), lamb and pork, are just some of the dishes, which give a special look to the gourmet restaurant. Seafood specialties such as smoked trout, squid, red fish are also on the menu. In addition to a large selection of grilled specialties, meat and cooked dishes, the restaurant also offers vegetarian dishes, and desserts such as tufahija, ice cream, pancakes au gratin, orasnica, etc.   

                                                                 Photo of old Belgrade with "Question mark" in the middle 

In downtown, in the neighborhood of Kosancicev Venac stands the oldest kafana in Belgrade, called the "Question mark". As Skadarlija, this was also a popular hung- out of bohemians, poets and writers. Nowadays, Question mark is more oriented towards tourists. Restaurant offers a spirit of old Belgrade and serves traditional specialties. 

 In case you are located, or visiting Zemun we would point out  restaurant Šaran on the Danube promenade. It's well known Belgrade restaurant where you can hear proper traditional music and eat seafood as well as meat specialties in combination with Serbian wine. 

In case you are traveling to Belgrade, we would suggest our cozy apartments in the city center. We offer many different interior designs, so you can pick which one you like. All our apartments are fully equipped.   

Serbian DJs You Should Know About

Today, we continue to guide you thru electronic music scene of Belgrade. The scene itself is a small one, but its rich and diverse when it comes to music genres and DJ collectives. We mentioned in our previous article which are the best clubs in Belgrade focused on electronic music. Now, we move to some serious names in our local scene.  

DJ Marko Nastic

Marko Nastic, is globally recognised by many as one of the Top South Eastern Europe artist as producer & DJ performer. Marko and friends accomplished and built one of the most vibrant club scenes in Balkan, the one that inspired writers of Mixmag, The Face, DJ and NME to write about.

In carrier long almost 20 years Marko has done more than 200 releases including rmx and co productions. He is most famous for his high end 3 decks sets which gave him opportunity to tour globe many times and to be resident of Exit festival. Currently releasing on his label Sake &Vinyl Only and Ama. 

DJ Dejan Milicevic 

For many years Dejan has been on the scene,started dj-ing at the age of just fifteen and rolling for around eighteen years now. After winning lots of prizes in 1997 and 1998 everything started to happen. As a part of the KneDeep family he played all the major events by now and also had the ex Yugoslavian region covered at the same time having every weekend full of new experiences. His music style is a mix of house and techno that has a flavor of a long and experienced career. The year 2011 was the year of the debut album release from this artist after more than 80 EP's in his music life , Trust and the Purpose (Gillesku Records) sold out all vinyl copies just in 5 days and made a great success. New album "Just Keep Talking Girl" has just been released in August 2012 on Plastic city label and also got a huge feedback from the audience. 

For the past 5 years Dejan is collaborating with Burn energy drink company and working as their music ambassador,also giving lectures on a regional level for Burn Audio Tool software and making it available to everyone. 

In 2014 Dejan launched a new vinyl-digital label called Tit0 (Tit Zero Recordings ) hitting the first EP with legendary Dj Rush on the microphone.

DJ Lea Dobricic 

Winner of Burn Studios Residency contest 2013, resident DJ at prestigious Ibiza club - Privilege, playing on Elrow parties on Ibiza and in Barcelona.

She is charismatic, very talented and attractive. She has been into music since 2005 and created a boom in recent few years, performing in the most prestigious European clubs and festivals. In a short time, she shared decks with a lot of important names in electronic world music scene such as Laurent Garnier, Luciano, Richie Hawtin, Umek, Dubfire, Marco Carola, Anja Schneider, Miss Kittin, Azzari & III, Beltek, Supernova, Claude VonStroke, Carlo Lio, Layo & Bushwacka, Silicone Soul and many others.

She spins catchy mix of deep house, tech house, minimal and techno, always with a precise technique and extreme elegance and brings freshness and incredible energy in a unique way.

Identical energy is felt in her production as well, and she proved her talent in May 2010, winning the first place among hundreds of applicants on Remix Contest "Stefano Noferini - Papi". The remix was published on Deeperfect records.

From that moment she establishes cooperation with many influential record labels such as Bosphorus Underground Recordings, Italo biusiness, Freshin, Butane recordings, Lovable Fairy Tale, Killing Machine, No-Logic...

DJ Filip Xavi 

Promoter, Producer and a DJ from Belgrade. Resident of the techno cathedral Drugstore in Palilula. The guy who understands what contemporary techno is all about. 

Beyond House Collective 

One of our favorite DJ collectives in Belgrade. Guys that never disappoint. Beyond House is a party serial & music collective from Belgrade-Serbia, specialist in pure underground dance music with depth and soul.

In case you are visiting Belgrade, we of caurse recommend our City Break apartments situated in the central districts and near many Belgrade clubs, 

Guide to Electronic Music Venues in Belgrade

Since the 90's Belgrade is a home of underground clubs focused on music genders as house, techno, progressive, drum & bass....It started with iconic club Industrija (Industry), than Omen, Barutana and Mondo. Today, from those mentioned only Barutana is open for visitors again and stands in the Lower part of Kalemegdan fortress. During the winter season it works as a DOT club, in Francuska 6 street. Here you can catch local DJs, collectives and the foreign DJs. 

                                                                   20/44 Boat 

Belgrade classic, the Tube is just around the corner in Simina street in Dorćol neighborhood. It's one of the most popular clubs in Belgrade. Some of the world class DJs played here, such as Dixon, Adam Beyer, Nina Kraviz, Steffi...Unfortunately, now its more focused on a local djs and the crowd became much younger. 

On the river, the best boat is 20/44. For many years this club manage to keep up with good reputation and its open during the entire year. Entrance is around 3 to 4 euros. Music section ranges from deep house and disco to Detroit techno.  Also, some of the world class Djs played here as Nicolas Jaar, Mike Huckaby and similar. 

When it comes to underground music; techno, house and experimental Drugstore club is definitely a winner. It's open during Fridays or  Saturdays. The club can host over 1000 people and has three rooms. Interior is industrial and raw , since its a former slaughter house. 

                                                                 Drugstore club, Palilula 

For commercial house, don't miss Sound and Hot Mess rafts on the river. Prices are a bit upscale. 

In Belgrade there's everything for everybody, you just need to know what are your desires. 

In case you need accommodation don't forget City Break Apartments are the best and most private you can find.