A Hundereise into Carinthia
The long-awaited summer holiday is just around the corner — the first one with young Murphy in tow. Let's see how it all works out with 2 dogs? The boot is practically twice as full as usual — obviously — food, leads, collars, harnesses, toys, dog blankets, towels and so on all have to come along in duplicate.
Sunday: Techendorf - Ronacherfels
After spending Saturday stuffing the suitcases and bags, we can set off nice and early on Sunday. We leave Baden at 08:20, take a short break at the Packsattel, and arrive in Techendorf at 13:00.
We check into a lovely apartment with a garden at Hotel Regitnig. It has everything you could need: a fully equipped kitchen, a cosy living and dining room, and a generous bathroom.
Unpacking takes no time at all and we're off. The dog-walking meadow (complete with poo-bag dispenser) behind our accommodation leads us up towards the Gatschach forest path. An hour and a half on shaded, fairly level, somewhat stony ground takes us to the Ronacherfels. Halfway along, a short detour leads to a little stream where the pups can cool their bellies.
All along the way we keep catching glimpses of the turquoise-blue lake and can almost feel the cool water. When we finally hike the last stretch downhill, the Frenchie Connection shoots off at full speed. Where are they headed? When we catch up, we know: Che & Murphy have enthusiastically launched themselves into the first cove of the Weissensee and are enjoying their well-earned refreshment.
We splash around for a while — Murphy tries to catch the waves, the ducks and the floating sticks, and is having an absolute blast. Che enjoys the cool water and lets the "teenager" get up to mischief. A boat trip around the lake rounds off our first outing perfectly.
To kick off the holiday, we treat ourselves to a wonderfully tasty dinner in the Hundestüberl at the Regitnig. There are only 3 tables in a fairly small space, so dogs should be well socialised. Che gets briefly annoyed when the black Labrador approaches Murphy off the lead, but he settles down quickly and we enjoy our evening meal.
Monday: Nature Park Adventure Trail
A lie-in is in order since it's raining outside. All four of us keep dozing off until Che decides it's time to celebrate his 9th birthday.
The gift table is piled high: toys and snack boxes from hundekeks.at. The yellow dog toy and the squeaky are the highlights — the dog toy is destroyed within 15 minutes, yet the squeaky one is somehow still alive... The treats are absolutely amazing and will definitely be bought again!
After a quick walk we do our weekly shopping at the nearby supermarket and then finally have "breakfast".
Around 14:00 the sky clears, we're ready to go and explore the other side of the bridge.
Passing Schuler's Weinstube in the direction of Seehaus Winkler, we walk along a small paved road to the first gravel and meadow path, which we take up to the left towards the forest. The meadow gets put to thorough use for rolling around: Che and Murphy think it's fantastic. A stream crosses the path at the edge of the forest, and then we spot a sign on the left pointing to the nature park adventure trail. Obviously that's where we want to go!
Balancing on the log and across the ropes — no problem. The slide, on the other hand... My cousin then enlightened me: it's a belly-first, head-first slide. Well, you learn something new every day. I clearly haven't been to a playground in a while ;)
Passing the natural monument "Buchbichl", we come to a meadow where I spot ENORMOUS agility-looking equipment. My favourite person informs me that we've ended up on the mountain bike trail. Since the weather isn't great that day, we seize the moment and try out the huge wooden seesaw, the arches and the balance boards with the dogs — always keeping one eye out to make sure no downhill rider comes flying past. Our two four-legged friends are genuinely brave and rise to every challenge.
To replenish our energy reserves, we have homemade pizza in the evening, while Che & Murphy are delighted with their fragrant raw food tins.
Tuesday: Ronacherfels - Steinwand
Today there's no sleeping in, and straight after getting up we fetch bread rolls for breakfast. By 10:00 we're already on the boat heading to the Ronacherfels. The Weissensee boat services run by the Müller and Winkler families are thoroughly dog-friendly. No muzzle required, no extra charge for the dogs, and no one gives you a funny look if they're wet. A round trip costs €12 per adult, children pay €6. Shorter routes cost less.
The destination harbour Ronacherfels is reached quickly, and from there we make our way to the Steinwand with swimming breaks for humans and dogs alike. The little bays beckon with a turquoise, shallow entry into crystal-clear water at a lovely 22 degrees. Most of the time we have them to ourselves, though of course we also meet other hikers with and without dogs. The ground ranges from mainly earth to stony and root-riddled. The path is also suitable for beginners. From the Steinwand we take the boat back to Techendorf.
After lunch Murphy and I laze on the sun lounger until the boys next door start playing football. He wants to join in — ABSOLUTELY! And when a French Bulldog wants something, it will move heaven and earth to get it.
After we've "talked that one through" between the two of us, we head off with my partner and Che for an evening walk in the Gatschach forest.
Homemade waffles fill our stomachs this evening. The pups, as they have all week, get their wet food with various toppings (little pieces of cheese, ham, cottage cheese and the like). Yes, they're spoiled ;)
Wednesday: Techendorf - Naggleralm
After a leisurely breakfast we set off at 10:00 on hiking trail 25 towards the Naggleralm. A gravel path keeps offering glimpses of the beautiful lake, and after roughly an hour and a half we reach the top. A packed lunch adorned with wildflowers gives us the energy we need for the descent. The service at the mountain hut is attentive and efficient. Our dogs behave wonderfully, despite a yapping miniature schnauzer a few tables away. We observe the cows calmly from a distance and decide to skip the alpine loop today.
On the way down we choose the meadow path with its sweeping views and gorgeous alpine flowers. Happy and pleasantly tired, we reach the starting point at Bergbahn Weissensee after about 45 minutes.
After a little rest and some trick-dog practice, all four of us stroll along the lakeside promenade in Techendorf towards Gatschach. To round off the day, Che & Murphy treat themselves to a quick cool-down at the lake access point next to the sausage stand.
Thursday: Techendorf - Alte Mühle - Naggl - Paterzipf
Today Hundereise takes its final hike of the holiday. Our destination is the Paterzipf via the old mill near Naggl. We start on trail 25 again and then switch to trail 26. The route is relatively flat and almost entirely in the shade, except for the last stretch. At the old mill there's fresh spring water and a spot to rest. Once we reach the Paterzipf, we cross the lake by boat to Ronacherfels for a well-earned break with a midday snack.
Next we head to a swimming cove, where Murphy initially isn't keen on going in. The moment I turn around and swim away, I hear my partner call out: "Murphy!" — and in he comes. I swim back to shore alongside him. Che is a good little swimmer too, though he prefers the shallower water. Later we chug back towards the apartment by boat.
We enjoy dinner on the Regitnig Terrasse (dogs are welcome there too). Murphy is a bit of a rascal and barks at a Münsterländer — it takes a little while to get his focus back on us, but we manage. Playing and practising tricks with the children from the neighbouring apartment rounds off the holiday day for the dogs.
Friday: Swimming Platform at Hotel Regitnig
After a relaxed start, we spend our last holiday day recharging. At the boat-landing swimming jetty of Regitnig — where dogs are welcome — the agenda is relaxation, water fun, and selfie-stick experiments.
Before we start packing up in the evening, we stroll along the lakeside promenade on the other side of the bridge, where there are quite a few cyclists about — which makes navigating with two French Bulldogs on long lines a bit of a gauntlet.
We make use of the cool night air to have a comfortable and quick drive home — we're certainly better off than we'd be on a Saturday. On the stroke of midnight we arrive home with eight satisfied, exhausted paws. The essentials come out of the car; everything else can wait. Che & Murphy waddle purposefully to bed, we follow shortly after, and no doubt we all dream of our Hundereise to the Weissensee…
