One Sunday I awoke, terribly late as usual, and discovered that it was dark, dingy and thickly overcast. Although it was not raining, the streets were slicked with water and it looked like it might start up again any minute. I immediately phoned my friend and fellow quest-participant Ash and we agreed that it was perfect weather for... A SALAMANDER QUEST.
The aim of the salamander quest is so simple, I shall not spell it out here. In previous years we had discovered that this time of year and weather conditions were excellent prerequisites for a successful quest, although ideally there would have been a few more dead leaves already on the ground.
We set off from the familiar ground of Cobenzl, halfway up the Kahlenberg and one of the most frequented parts of the Wienerwald still within city limits. The clouds were so low we were completely immersed in them, visibility was down to a few tens of meters and the widely spaced beech trees loomed indistinctly in the distance. Although it was not raining, the woods and undergrowth rustled constantly with falling water droplets, the fog condensing directly onto the leaves and dripping down in a strange almost-rainstorm.
Less than an hour of damp searching and many fungi photographed saw us heading on a major path in the direction of delicious Austrian Gasthaus food with which to fortify ourselves. On this path, quite undisturbed, sat a big, fat, orange and black salamander. Victory photos taken, we adjourned to the restaurant, consumed our lentils, dumplings and bacon (well, in my case) and then headed home, content in the knowledge of another salamander quest well quested.
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| This is what quest victory looks like. Cool and mildly poisonous. |
Here's the full gallery!
Der SalamanderTom
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