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Hundereise – Paws on TourHundereise – Paws on Tour
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Who we are

Our journey with dogs

First things first: we are now just a duo, but still just as much fun, a little bit crazy and very keen to explore. We are Babsi and Murphy and we live just south of Vienna. From there we explore the surroundings near and far & test them for dog-friendliness.

Not sure yet where your next dog holiday should take you? Fancy trying something new with your dog at the weekend? And are you generally interested in life with a dog? Then sniff your way through our posts and find the right answers for you.

Your Hundereise with us has only just begun here, but it is far from over.

Our storiesDestinations on the map
Babsi with Murphy and Archie, the two French Bulldogs.

Woof!

The pack

Who is on board

Two of us still hike over every mountain, two accompany us as stars in the sky.

Portrait of Babsi, the owner and author of Hundereise.
Who am I?

Babsi

When I, little Babsi, came into the world in Vienna in the early 1980s, our long-haired dachshund Mingo was already licking my baby fingers and… I smiled! It was probably him who laid the love of animals into my cradle.

Then came Maxi – a Lhasa Apso, also known as a Tibetan temple dog – who had little in common with the Buddhist way of life, however, and kept us all pretty busy. For an incredible 17 years he accompanied me from childhood through my teenage years and into my student days.

My second great passion was always horses, which is why, after a detour towards business studies at the WU, I decided to study „Equine Science" at VetMed Vienna and BOKU. With my bachelor’s degree in hand I ended up working in an office after all, and the horses remained my hobby.

It was through the horses that I met one of my best friends and her family in 2006. There for the Sunday barbecues more and more often, I soon became part of the „family furniture". In 2012 love for my friend’s brother was kindled, and since 2014 I have been living with him in Baden.

On 17 July 2017 the Hundereise was „born". Programmed by my favourite man. The content created by me. Supported until the end of 2019 by Martina with the Galgos Atlas, Tiago and Neroli.

After 3 years the Hundereise had earned a new outfit, and it has now received one from me, since I have become a web developer myself in the meantime. So the Hundereise blog has been shining in this new look since the summer of 2020, and I hope you enjoy it.

Che, the black French Bulldog, at the Paul Croes photo shoot.
Our star in the sky

Che

The infatuation with French Bulldogs goes back a long way. During my „dog-free" time there was always a wish for a Bully, because at the riding tournaments there were ones to be seen who only had eyes for their owner – and something like that was my dream.

Through the family of my favourite people, Che the Frenchie, born in July 2008, then came into my life. When I got together with my sweetheart, Che, the little rascal, was over at our place more and more at the weekends – and when I finally moved to Baden, Che decided that he wanted to live with us too.

Che grew into my soul dog. Even though he had his bulldog „quirks" and did not only have eyes for me, as I had hoped, we loved each other dearly. By and large we understood each other without words, and glances were enough. „Bubu" (one of his nicknames) was an intelligent, eager-to-learn, (almost) always motivated dog who would have gone for a walk umpteen times a day and was up for any adventure. Whether hiking, doing tricks, trailing or simply cuddling – Che was game for anything!

Sadly we had to send Che over the rainbow bridge on 14 April 2018 because of an aggressive heart tumour. He may now chase after every little hare, just as he pleases…

Murphy, the beige French Bulldog, the charming little rascal.
The golden boy

Murphy

Since we had so much fun with Che, and Che in turn was so fond of puppies, we thought to ourselves: „Why not go for a double pack straight away?"

When we brought Murphy into our pack in February 2017, Che was thrilled at first and they immediately began to play with each other in the garden. In the evening – the „squirt" was of course still there – you could read Che’s thoughts: „Seriously! Is he staying now???"

For a whole week he let the little squirt sulk, but Murphy did not give up and managed to „persuade" him to play after all. And lo and behold… from day 7 of Murphy’s arrival they played, cuddled, ran and, best of all, bulldozed together every day!

Murphy was a very well-behaved puppy (quickly house-trained, hardly wrecked anything except his own toys, takes his cue from the big one when driving, and so on) and behaved very „properly" as a young dog too. In certain situations, such as encounters with other dogs or loud noises, Murphy is not the bravest. So we support him in showing more self-confidence – and it is developing in a positive direction.

By now we cannot imagine a single day without our „golden glitter boy".

Archie, the grey French Bulldog, outdoors.
And then came

Archie

In November 2018 Aras, back then an 11-month-old Frenchie with a diagnosis of epilepsy, was looking for a new home through the Baden animal shelter. For us it was time for a second dog. Said and done: we called and arranged a time to go for a walk. There was definitely an initial rapport between Murphy and Aras. The signs were good!

The next day we watched them off the lead too, to see whether they would get along here as well – and our expectations were not disappointed. Aras was taken along for a trial day.

Really it had already been decided for us anyway, but his character and the affection between our blondie and the little chubby one quickly won us over. Aras became Archie, or Archibald – and of course he was allowed to stay!

Even though Murphy is the „big brother", Archie, with his self-assured character, helped us to give Murphy more confidence. His illness presented us with many challenges:

  1. the fear during the seizures
  2. reading up on the subject of epilepsy
  3. managing the exact timing of his medication
  4. keeping to his special diet

This is only a small excerpt, but every effort was worth it. Archie was such a grateful and happy dog who showed us every day that life is there to be enjoyed.

On 22 April 2024 we had to let Archie go over the rainbow bridge, and my heart got a crack…

That is what our personal „Hundereise" has looked like so far. I share my experiences with the dogs here on the blog. That way you get a glimpse of our funny, relaxing, but also thrilling adventures.

Warm regards,
Babsi and Murphy

Travel gallery

Best Spots

A few of our favourite places – tested for paw-friendliness.

  • Waldviertel: Hundereise by the Riegersbach near Zwettl.
  • Waldviertel: Hundereise by the Riegersbach near Zwettl.
  • By the Alm river in Grünau.
  • At the Kleiner Ödsee – a Hundereise impression.
  • Travel impression from the Hundereise gallery.