Hiking, friendship, preparing food, food styling, photography and coffee. I wanted to register right away and to become a member of this tribe. I would certainly come once a month to a get-together in the mountains or somewhere in the lowlands. I can make good coffee and I love mountains.
Who is this team with whom I want and we all want to drink coffee, to exchange ideas about photography and must-visit places in Slovenia?
In (my first) dialogue with Ana, Petra, Jure i Gašper from Slovenia. The Ferntribe team!
Ferntribe left me with lots of question marks from the very first minute I saw your Instagram profile. Please describe in a few sentences, who are you?
Ferntribe is actually a group of 4 friends, two couples that share same interests such as traveling, spending time in nature and always eating good food. We met over Instagram a few years ago. Despite the lack of time we are doing our best to meet as many times as possible to enjoy and have fun together. Our goal is to enjoy nature as much as we can.
Ferntribe is a team of 4 people. What role do you usually take when preparing a gathering / trip?
Everyone has their own part. Boys are usually responsible for organization of trips, driving, booking tickets and hotels and certainly for helping to carry the gear we take on our meetings. And for changing tires (laugh) - anecdote from our trip to Iceland. Girls share their roles when it comes to food, styling and photography. Also, it is usually girls who decide where our meeting spot will be.
What inspires you?
We find inspiration in everyday things, things that surround us. Nature, hidden parts of the world, good food and drinks, nice people….
Just a quick look at your photographs, one can rest one's eyes and enjoy the moment that you captured so well. What do you expect from a trip that you have planned when you pack your bags, coffee and camera?
Each trip is unique and with each trip we try to experience as much as possible, feel the nature and just take the time to enjoy its beauty. Sometimes it is hard not to hurry but we actually do sit down, relax and try to enjoy the moment. When we plan a trip, we mark spots we want to visit and make some kind of timeline for each one (although in reality everything does not always go according to plan). Good organization before the trip enables us to be more relaxed when we travel and prevents us from wasting time on searching for the pre-planned places. This makes it much easier not only to take photos but to truly enjoy the nature, a cup of coffee, to talk, or just to be present in the moment.
What's necessary for 4 people to organize themselves and go somewhere with a car full of equipment that guarantees the time will be well spent?
Just a lot of good will and SMS texting (laugh). We all have a lot to do since all of us have regular jobs. But we manage to meet regularly because it means so much to us.
How do you decide where to go next?
It is not hard to decide where to go since we do have same interests and points of view. The destination is usually determined according to the wishes and definitely according to the amount of time we have.
Is nature the place where you can really find that inner peace?
The nature is involved almost every time. We do love cities as well, but woods, mountains, rivers, that is our cup of tea.
Which is your favorite place to go?
Slovenians looove to hike. It's free, cheap and healthy. We like to go to the Julian Alps where there are plenty of peaks and places that we love. Although we try to avoid the most touristic places or we visit them off season. Sometimes we discover places just by accident or pure luck.
Do you have your secret place that you love the most? The place where you would take only people who would appreciate that recommendation?
We can't say we have »the place« that we could say is hidden or that is ours. There is one place though, it's above the Bohinj Lake. We love to go there since it is magical to us because it has a beautiful view and sunset. Other than that, we often go to Pokljuka as it is so big that you easily get lost in the woods.
You often go and rent some interesting huts for your trip. Can you recommend one that you love the most.
As for the hut, we would recommend the huts on the Velika Planina that can be rented for a couple of days. The huts are phenomenal because they are actually made of old planks, these are wooden huts and they look fantastic inside. The views from this mountain are beautiful, especially the one of the Kamnik_Savinja Alps.
Coffee is kind of your 5th tribe member. You always bring coffee. How come?
Coffee definitely has a special place on our trips. It is like an obsession for us as it is a must-do every time we meet. Whenever that may be. We love the Kolektiv 22 roasters and we bring their coffee with us. Actually they are very good friends of ours, plus, we support small businesses.
Can you think of a place where you had a really incredible cup of coffee that you prepared?
There were many beautiful places where we made our coffee but we could say that having one on the Ogradi mountain (2.087 m) with a magnificent view of Triglav and its neighbor peaks was the best and most scenic.
If you could represent your country with just one photo that describes it best, which photo would you pick?
It is hard to say. Slovenia has so many beautiful places and picking one would be injustice to others. We would say the Bohinj Lake, the Julian or Kamnik Alps, the Soča river valley, the Kras region.
What is always with you on your trips?
Camera, coffee and something to eat.
What can we expect in the future from the Ferntribe?
For now we only have short-term plans like one- or two-day trips in Slovenia or Croatia. For any other long-distance trips we still need to check our work schedules.
The vision remains as it was in the beginning. We are planning to spend most of the time together and to enjoy being somewhere where we are inspired and happy.
In the future we might want to associate with some brands that are related to the context of our gatherings. And, who knows, maybe we will organize a bigger gathering for those who love mountain views, good food and coffee.
We will definitely announce it on our Instagram page so stay tuned.
Thank you, Ferntribe, for being my first guest. Love the energy that's behind the project and can't wait to see what you will be up to next.
The Ferntribe’s personal profiles
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