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Spring!

Details: Published: 16 April 2013

Approximately two weeks ago everyone was preparing for a new ice age - below the situation during searching for easter-eggs. Even though you'd expect that colored eggs are easy to find in snow - they aren't (..especcially if buried..).

And now - finally - spring! Seems that nature survived the new, one week lasting ice age and i'm still disappointed that they didn't give it it's own name. Like "Kötz", an eastern tributary to the Günz river, or maybe "Bücklingsbach", a western one.
".. and the last ice-ages were Günz, Mindel, Riß and Würm.... and Bücklingsbach."
Btw. that scheme seems to be quite outdated, as we heard in some geology lectures, so i'm sorry for my generation that we didn't learn the full truth in our schoolbooks and there maybe even was no Würm.. or Günz.. or also just for one week. Hm.. where were we? Ah.. spring.. lizards.. lizards! They're out again! :-)

Samothraki 2011

Details: Published: 27 November 2012

Meanwhile more than a year ago, I joined a student-excursion to the greek island Samothraki. This island is, not only, but especially due to its biogeographical position and geology, highly interesting. In the last glacial period it was connected to the mainland and therefore likely a refuge for many species; which would for example also explain the occurence of some typical mainland lizards. Besides, due to its location in close vicinity to the european mainland and Asia Minor, the fauna and flora of different biogeographical regions can be found on Samothraki.
Regarding the geology, the island consists mainly of igneous rock and on some parts it's possible to find solified lavastreams, a sign of the former vulcanic activity. Also the dimensions are interesting, the top reaches, depending on the reference, around 1611m or a little more, while the area is far smaller than the area of Vienna! So it's more or less a mountain emerging out of the sea.
It has been defenitely one of the two greatest excursions I've attended on "my" university (second one was a glacier practical). And as far as there are some interesting open bills regarding the herpetofauna, i'd really like to visit it again.

Here a small selection of the highlights, as far as it was possible to click them.

The first thing in the harbour... luckily it was not ours but just there for getting wrecked.

Feeding seagulls - a really great experience and delivers cool pics! All the seagulls in the pictures are Larus michahellis.

Jp, we also saw dolphins ;-)

What he or she might have thought at this moment..?

He was really sitting there!!

sssswweeeeeeeeeeeet! Juvenile Charadrius dubius.

4 turtles (Mauremy rivulata) to spot.

Specimen of some Libellulidae dragonfly.

Actually those are looking really great.. just if mosquitos of this genus (Aedes) wouldn't carry diseases like dengue and yellow fever..

Eresus sp. female, surely (for me) one of the highlights.

The morning when we tried to climb the top of the island.

Already some meters further up the mountain, a short break for relaxing and enjoying the really nice scenery.

Podarcis muralis (Wall-lizard) basking.

And much more wall-lizards.

Lacerta viridis, green lizard, actually, like the wall-lizard, something special for that area.

One of the highlights of some excavations ^^

Unbelievable huge individual of the (likely?) Sparassidae.

goodbye :-(

Amazing how huge seagulls are!

Arrival again on the mainland.

Actually this one is from the start of the journey, but i think it is a nice picture to close the album, because i really like to go there again..

Hochschwab

Details: Published: 23 October 2012

To experience the last potentially warm days of this year from their best side, we've been two days hiking in the Hochschwab - region. "Potentially" because of the fact, that Vienna was, typically for this time of the year and, like the most other places in the austrian lowlands, for days and days covered in fog with temperatures around +7°C , whereas above that layer of fog, the world completely changed. Something between 15 and 20°C and shunshine from the beginning to the end of the day.
There are several reasons why i like this mountain, it's: quite high (top @ 2277 masl), quite close to Vienna (something like 2:15 hrs), not that hard to get up there (even though there are passages where you can fall quite far) and - the possibility to click capricorns and chamoises!
So far so good, here now some pictures from three different hiking - sessions in autumn.

Let's start directly with our main actors - the guys below are capricorns. An what's so nice about them, they are not frightened of humans and therefore easy to click.

The following guy has been the inpersonification of the word "chillaxed"

When you see them sitting serenely next to the path, you shouldn't forget, that they can use their horns for other things than scratching the ass ;-)

Chamoises are a bit more careful, but if you avoid fast movements, it's also possible to get a closer shot.

Colors!!

The upper part of Hochschwab is above the timberline and affected by the weathering of limestone, for example also lots of dolinas can be found there. The mountain hut (Schiestlhaus) on the right picture is close to the top and very interesting. It's a passive-house, uses rainwater for watersupply and solar panels for electricity, and seems to have technical goodies in each corner. Besides, the music they play there is quite cool and not that stereotype mountain-hut-stuff.

Did I tell you already that the weather was really great? Besides, we also have a new record for late swimming (at not completely crazy conditions..) this year :-) But honestly, expressed in an alternative temperature unit, it was 2 cm cold, and charley horse came galopping around after seconds.

The end of todays entry is dedicated to Mr. Fox (and one of his deceased fellows), a welcome and well known neighbour of the Häuslalm mountain - hut.

PS: A littlebit out of context - one of the greatest albums I've ever heard:
Anouar Brahem - Le Voyage de Sahar
Take some time, relax and listen to it!