Speaking at Java2Days, Bulgaria

On October 8-9, 2009 I spoke at Java2Days in Sofia, Bulgaria. I got to do four different talks - my Java EE 6 Overview, an EJB 3.1 Preview, my EJB 3/Spring integration talk as well as my JPA/database performance optimization talk. The crowd was great and it was great to try and reach out to Java developers in Eastern Europe. This was the first time this conference was organized and I think it was truly a success. Just in terms of attendance, they surpassed some of the US based conferences, not to mention the enthusiasm level of the attendees.

The Bulgarians, including organizers Emo, Eva and Yoana were excellent hosts. Bulgaria truly is a rapidly flourishing country with a long, proud history, a vibrant multicultural community and a rich, colorful cultural tapestry. I look forward to speaking at Java2Days and Eastern Europe in general in the future. It was most definitely both a privilege and an honor to speak in a gem of a country emerging from behind the Iron Curtain.

It was also great to spend some time with my fellow co-presenters and friends Josh Long, Talip Ozturk, John Willis, Alexis Moussine-Pouchkine, Rob Harrop of SpringSource, Heath Kesler and Andrew Lombardi.