Austria, Wachau (Österreich, Wachau) (Ausztria, Wachau) 06.2012.

In June, 2012, we traveled to the Austrian Alps with members of the German Spinnen-Forum and the Austrian Spinnenstammtisch for a spider-expedition, with the back-up of some local National Parks. However, we started our expedition outside the Alps, in the beautiful natural-cultural region of the Wachau, part of the UNESCO World Heritage. It is a picturesque valley formed by the Danube. Near the town of Dürnstein, we found species-rich xeric slope steppe habitats among the vineyards.

Peaks of the High Tauern, Austria (Gipfeln der Hohen Tauern, Österreich) (A Hohe Tauern csúcsai, Ausztria) 06.2012.

We spent 3 days in the higher parts of the Großglocknerstraße in the Hohe Tauern mountains. Our base was at 2300 meters above sea level, over the tree line in the true alpine zone. The plants and animals here are real specialised ones, they are able to survive the hard winters and the rapid changes in temperature during the short summer. We encountered many species that we've never seen before and I made so many photos that I have split this trip report into two parts: in the first, I only show plants and lichens.

High Tauern National Park, Austria (Nationalpark Hohe Tauern, Österreich) (Hohe Tauern Nemzeti Park, Ausztria) 06.2012.

The last place we visited in Austria was the High Tauern National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage site. The High Tauern is the highest mountain range in Austria, the country's highest peak, the Großglockner (3798 m) is located here. There is a famous mountain road, the Großglockner Hochalpinstraße, which is built to give the best panorama on the mountains of the Glockner-Group. The highest point of the road is at 2571 m, well over the tree line. Here, the mountains are composed mainly of crystallised rocks and schist, not of limestone, as in the Totes Gebirge. This allows the trees line to reach about 1800-2200 meters. The landscape is beautiful and the national park has a very interesting flora and fauna. First, I will show photos from the subalpine conifer forest areas we visited.

Loser Mountain, Austria (Loser Berg, Österreich) (Loser-hegy, Ausztria) 06.2012.

Our next destination in Austria was the Loser Mountain (1837 m), which lies at the southern endpoint of a part of the Totes Gebirge, meaning that it is a limestone mountain. There is a panorama road, the Loser-Panoramastraße that leads almost to the peak, to 1600 m. Here we searched through the tree-less landscape and enjoyed the beautiful panorama.

Laudachsee, Austria (Laudachsee, Österreich) (Laudachsee, Ausztria) 06.2012.

The Laudachsee is a mountain lake with drinking water quality between the Katzenstein and the Traunstein (it lies 894 ms a. s. l.) in the Salzkammergut in Upper Austria. It is a popular hiking destination. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily the whole day long, as we were there. Nevertheless, we had a nice day here and I also managed to take some photos.

Kalkalpen National Park, Austria (Nationalpark Kalkalpen, Österreich) (Kalkalpen Nemzeti Park, Ausztria) 06.2010.

The next stop in the Alps was the river Reichramingbach at the edge of the Kalkalpen National Park, where we searched for spiders on a small meadow, in the spruce forest and also on the bank of this ice-cold mountain river.

Hohe Dirn, Austria (Hohe Dirn, Österreich) (Hohe Dirn, Ausztria) 06.2012.

During our spider field trip in Austria, the first mountain we visited was the Hohe Dirn (1134 m high) near the National Park Kalkalpen in Upper Austria. We found a beautiful landscape of forests and pastures here, with unbelievably many orchids.

Almtal and Totes Gebirge, Austria (Almtal und Totes Gebirge, Österreich) (Alm-völgy és Holt-hegység, Ausztria) 06.2012.

We visited the Almtal (Alm valley) during our spider excursion in Austria, and from the Almsee (Alm lake) we went on hiking towards the Rotgschirr, a 2270 m high peak. This area is part of the Totes Gebirge (literally: Dead Mountains), which belongs to the Northern Limestone Alps. Here, on the limestone mountains the vegetation is very much different compared to the rest of the Alps, the tree line is much lower and above 1200-1500 m very few plants are found: the mountains are barren, hence the name. Of course, it proved to be a very interesting place for nature photography, despite the almost constant rain that day.