Hedonism
Marilyn Monroe: The Woman Who Became Bigger Than Her Own Life
There are very few people in the world whose names require no introduction. Marilyn Monroe is one of them. There is no need to mention that she was an actress. No need to list films, dates, or biographical details. A single photograph is enough. The white dress lifted by the wind above a New York subway grate. Red lipstick. Blonde hair. A smile that seems both seductive and vulnerable.
Dumplings - The Sweet Treat That Won Over Americans in the City on the Vrbas
The classic plum dumpling is familiar to almost everyone and remains a favorite dessert for many. In recent years, however, an entire world of new flavors has transformed this beloved spherical treat into something far more diverse.
Ivan Pažanin for HEDONIST: Food Has Become Sexy!
Famous Dalmatian chef and star of the cooking show “Three, Two, One – Cook!” Ivan Pažanin is widely regarded as a true hedonist - something he recently proved once again by combining his favorite passions: great food, good wine, and relaxing at his parents’ summer house near his hometown of Split.
Tbilisi: The Most Underrated Capital Between Europe and Asia
Carpets hang from the terraces of old houses, drying in the sun. Beneath them pass black Mercedes sedans from the 1990s, hipsters carrying analog cameras and women holding freshly baked bread still wrapped in paper from the oven. Somewhere, electronic music drifts up from a basement bar, while only a few streets away, old men play backgammon outside a small shop. Tbilisi does not feel like a city carefully designed to impress tourists. And that is exactly why it does.
His Majesty: The Kotlić
The recipe seems almost absurdly simple: for one large cauldron serving eight to ten people, four kilograms of fish, six and a half liters of water, a spoonful of salt, three deciliters of homemade tomato sauce, and four onions. Once the cauldron begins to boil, add three spoons of sweet paprika and, if desired, some hot paprika as well. Let it boil for half an hour. Adjust the seasoning if needed, and the feast may begin.
What the West Pays Expensively for Today, the Balkans Still Have Right Outside Their Homes
There are places in the Balkans where the day still does not end with the glow of a screen turning off. In the evening, when the sun softens the facades and the asphalt finally stops radiating the day’s heat, chairs begin appearing in front of houses. First one. Then another. Someone brings out a small wooden stool. Someone else carries a beer. Someone slices a watermelon. Someone simply brings silence.
Dubrovnik Through the Eyes of a Local: A City That Isn’t Seen, but Lived
Dubrovnik is often described as the pearl of the Adriatic, but for those who live there, it is far more than a tourist postcard. It is a way of life, a rhythm that refuses to rush, and a daily routine built around one simple philosophy - pomalo.
Danube Čardas: Fried Terpan Fish, Homemade Noodles and an “Eight-Two” Spritzer
A warm June night on the terrace of the “Stari mlin” in Dalj. Tamburitza musicians tune their instruments while, barely twenty meters away, the mighty Danube rolls past in the dark. Beneath the roof of the summer kitchen, five fiery cauldrons boil at once. I circle the head chef and, over a glass of rakija, steal a few culinary secrets: this much onion for this much fish in this much water, this much paprika and this much salt at precisely the right moment - never earlier.
Marlon Brando and the Time When Hedonism Wasn’t Content for Social Media
There are people who have never had to perform charisma. The moment they entered a room, the atmosphere changed before they even spoke their first word. Marlon Brando was one of those people.
Rio: A City Dreamed of for a Lifetime
Robert Dacešin, a travel writer from Banja Luka who has explored more than half the world, told HEDONIST magazine that he had always had only one dream: to reach Brazil and spend a night in Rio de Janeiro. He wandered through train stations, slept on buses, and finally arrived at the place he had dreamed about for more than two decades, Copacabana Beach.
Komodo: The Islands Where Dragons Still Roam
There are places in the world that feel as though they do not belong to this era. The Komodo Islands in Indonesia are exactly that kind of place - wild, raw, and almost surreal. They are home to a creature that looks as if it survived from the age of dinosaurs: the legendary Komodo dragon.
HEDONIST Recipe: Panna Cotta That Smells Like Summer
The hot summer days ahead are perfect for the finest, creamiest bites, and the timeless Italian classic seems to have a thousand different faces. Well chilled, delicate, aromatic, and incredibly rich, panna cotta is everything we need this season.
Stojan Vranješ for HEDONIST: Goals Are My Fuel
The English often say that goals are like double-decker buses - you wait and wait, and then several arrive at once. Few understand that better than Stojan Vranješ, who recently made his 300th appearance for FK Borac Banja Luka. One of the most decorated footballers ever to come from the city on the Vrbas River, Vranješ won four Bosnian Premier League titles with the red-and-blue side.
Five Shores That Make People Travel Across Half the Planet
There are places in the world that people do not visit merely for a vacation. They travel to them for a feeling. For an image once seen on a screen, for a photograph that seemed unreal, or for that quiet desire to stand, at least once in life, before a landscape that feels detached from everyday reality.
Scents That Changed History
Today, spices are simply something that sits on the shelf between salt and sugar. A small detail we add almost automatically, without much thought. Yet for centuries, these tiny powders, seeds, and bark fragments were among the most valuable things in the world. Expeditions were launched because of them, new continents were discovered, trade routes were built, and wars were fought.
BurgerMania: How Banja Luka Helped Map the Regional Burger Scene
Nebojša Lakić, a journalist, web designer, foodie, and passionate burger enthusiast from Banja Luka, is the founder of BurgerMania.rs, the first specialized burger-focused food blog in the region. According to Lakić, the idea for the blog emerged spontaneously after the closure of the popular fast-food chain McDonald’s in Banja Luka in 2015.
