We spent the first days of September in the Austrian Alps. Even without the fungi, we’re drawn to mountain landscapes—but the real bonus is that, with a bit of luck, on trips like these you can spot species you either don’t see in Hungary at all, or so rarely there that it’s almost like you don’t. 🙂 Our base was Kaprun, and from there we went hiking through different types of vegetation and at various elevations.

From high-altitude alpine meadows through Tilia-, Corylus-, and Fagus-dominated areas, across sphagnum bogs and into moss-covered Picea forests, we tried to take a good look everywhere—and had quite a few first encounters along the way. It was a bit strange getting used to the fact that you can run into grazing cows pretty much anywhere—even in the middle of a Picea forest. Most of the time they’re calm and uninterested, but while I was photographing this beautiful Entoloma chalybeum, we were clearly bothering them. One of the cows started toward me with impressive determination and loud disapproval, which is why I only managed to take a single photo.

Around 1,500 meters elevation, a sloped conifer forest turned out to be one of the richest habitats we came across. For the first time in our lives, we found Geoglossum (earth tongues) here—an unforgettable moment, as I’ve wanted to see them for a very long time. In the same area, we also photographed a group of milkcap species (Lactarius lignyotus, Lactarius picinus, Lactarius glyciosmus) that are rare or very rare back home in Hungary. Along the roadsides and in the leaf litter, Legaliana badia was popping up in many places—another species we’ve never seen back home.

The higher, sphagnum-rich, open habitats above 2,000 meters were full of interesting finds as well. Unfortunately, because we had to stick to the cable car schedule, we didn’t have as much time to explore as we would’ve liked. Still, Hypholoma elongatum is definitely a species that will always be tied to this place in my memories.