A STYRIAN SPA TO REMEMBER

This is Friedensreich Hundertwasser at his avant-garde best. It’s the one and only spa resort in the world that inspired his trademark dialogue with architecture: “The straight line is completely alien to mankind, to life, to all creation.” Together, with owner and advocate of tourism development, Robert Rogner, the cutting-edge spa concept was conceived, created and completed five years ago. Within weeks Rogner-Bad Blumau received its first accolade, the Austrian Environmental Mark of Excellence for Tourism Enterprise.

Up close a splash of colors saturate curiously odd-shaped buildings erupting from the earth at different angles with grass carpeting the rooftops. Within their walls are 247 rooms, 59 suites and 22 apartments with a flirtatious mix of curved, squared, rounded and rectangular windows. And this all has to do with Hundertwasser’s logic for a healthy environment, “If you let windows dance, by designing them in different styles, and if you allow as many irregularities as possible on facades and inside, houses will regain their health and begin to live.”

Three fountains, Jasper, Melchior and Balthazar, stand sentry at the entrance, just steps from the incline that leads to the spacious lobby. Just as

I am in Ziegelhaus (House of Bricks), a leisurely walk from the spa facilities and restaurants. It is a mostly white building with short and tall, thin and squat decorative “posts” in brown mosaic. As I traverse the corridors that sway and twist and turn here and there I can’t help but feel a reckless abandon, a sense a freedom that no other spa on earth allows guests to enjoy. At times I carry my sandals in hand just to feel my toes and bare feet gripping the cool curves of the terra-cotta floor.

Room 4002, spaciously comfortable, features an open concept between my bed, television and lounging area with a desk. The built-in closet is just across from the bathroom, sparkling with ultra-modern fixtures and water from the thermal springs belonging to the Neolithic period. There is even a patio with furniture, an inviting touch especially during warm weather days.

Getting around the resort is fun if you’re not in a hurry, and who is? At Rogner-Bad Blumau I am as close to nature as I can get in the hills of Eastern Styria. The 40-hectare resort boasts a full-service health spa with thermal pools, fitness center, an 80-kilometer cycling and hiking trail and a 45-hole golf course (a first in Europe.) I can choose to dine casually or gourmet-style and shop at specialty boutiques.

I am here to savor the therapeutic waters of the spring fed thermal pools that total 1,500 square meters in size. The outdoor pool’s crowing glory is the whirlpool that sits smack in the middle of the 36C hotspot. I join bathers in a circle as we “take to the waters!” When it’s time to cool down I wade over to one of four spouts dispensing a flurry of jets that pulsate on to my shoulders like a giant masseur ironing out troublesome knots, but not for long. The force sweeps me away and then I am back for a soak and the spouts, and on and on.

It’s a totally different scene indoors. Reached via snaking water corridors, the thermal pool is awash in light. Towering columns reach to the ceiling and cast reflections onto the water. Here I am free to lounge in a deck chair, frolic in the spring water or retreat to a corner or ledge out of sight. Yes, Mr. Hundertwasser, relaxing can be pretty nice in the right surroundings!

Sauna fans will love this - Finnish indoor and outdoor saunas, bio-sanarium and helarium, Roman and Turkish baths, aroma grotto and open-air effervescent bath and cold water pool. I am finally able to experience genuine European bathpools, especially after trying some of this before at Montreal’s Le Scandinave.

At Findedich, the health and mind center, holistic treatments do not target specific body parts; instead my mind, body and soul are totally involved. Baths and Packs (body cocoons) range from easily recognizable names like Ayurveda, Thalassotherapy and Cleopatra Bath to the more unusual Spruce Needle Bath and Hay Bath. My Orange Blossom bath is pleasant and refreshing, especially early in the morning, although I would have liked it to last longer.

Of the 20 massages listed I decide to try the 90-minute Esalen massage and discover it’s very different from any of the hundreds of massage and bodywork I have come to know.

Its foundation rests on the way Swedish massage involves the muscles and the circulation system, but touching also plays a vital part, and most of all a repertoire of stretching the body from head to toe.

I know the Esalen massage was created at the Esalen Institute in California more than three decades ago. I don’t know what method my therapist would employ. I am gently rocked, my joints experience slight movement and my muscles are stimulated deeper and deeper. I understand this session could include bits and pieces from techniques executed according to Trager, Feldenkrais, Rolfing, Polarity and acupressure.

I feel the acupressure, the rocking continues with the stretching and joint manipulation, and I sense there is an overall balance occurring within me. The massage strokes flow up and down with precise awareness for my comfort, never too invasive, always harmonious. Stimulating the blood vessels, relaxing the muscles and nervous system and activating my metabolism never felt this good.

The Wunderschon Beauty Center boasts a selection of facials and body treatments, plus special programs for men and couples. Designed to perfect, revitalize, cleanse, regenerate and de-stress, specific facials perk everyone up from beginning to end. My indulgence for a facial brings my attention to the necessity of having a professional treatment at least once a month. I am impressed with the Biodroga all-natural skincare line, and most of all, the facial massage adds a big plus to my already out-of-this-world Esalen massage.

The LLOA (Long Life Optimal Activity) features scientifically designed sport activities and fitness programs for groups, personal training and scientific care for the sports-minded person, accessible by purchasing a one-fee sports pass, although single tickets are also available.

Every morning a printed sheet (at the front desk) lists all the activities with time and location noted. Wake-up water gym, jogging, aqua fitness and jogging, spinning, spinal column stretching and legs, bums and tums workout are all on the program to help keep guests mobile.

Masai walking is (you’ve guessed it) a walking workout. But to fully benefit from this daily 45-minute session I must change in to MBT walking shoes geared to making me walk with better posture, eliminating joint and muscle problems that can affect the spine. Once I get used to wearing the shoes, my pace picks up and following the leader’s footsteps get easier, but it takes practice. Imagine walking barefoot on the beach, and you get the picture as to how it feels to go Masai walking.

At this spa guests can be whimsical or serious about what to eat. At the Iss Dich Fit (Eat Yourself Fit ) Restaurant Chef Thomas Redolfi prepares meals made with organic produce with nutrition in mind and each carries symbols identifying fat, oil and fiber content. His menus reflect his talent, their presentation, his creativity.

Appetizers or ‘starters’ are either warm or cold. Carpaccio tenderloin with truffled oil and fresh Parmesan orange salmon on toasted pumpernickel with dill-mustard sauce are served cold. Sheat fish dumpling in vegetables on crayfish sauce and marinated fillet of saddle stew on vegetable risotto can be ordered warm. Soup may be a tempting cappuccino of spinach with nutmeg or cream of topinambur with quails.

Entrees can be whole wheat, meat or fish dishes such as potato strudel on vegetable bouquet with sour cream sauce, stuffed vegetables with red rice, sheep’s cheese and spinach on mushroom sauce, pike perch on peppers with parsley dumplings and medallions of saddle of veal in green cheese crust with saffron noodles on rosemary jus. Desserts or “healthy sweets” as they are called here include chocolate mousse on ginger-mango ragout, flower parfait with various fruits of the season and sheep’s curd cheese dumpling in pumpkin seeds on cream of apples.

At lunchtime the “Little gourmet menu” offers a variety of choices – mousse of avocado with salad of crayfish, soup from alm ox with yellow boletus ravioli, St. Peter’s fish fillet with pumpkin ginger chutney, saddle of lamb with herbs and pepper and souffle of chestnut with cranberries ragout and ice wine.

At Rogner-Bad Blumau food and beverage service is always available. Besides eating healthy at IssDichFit I deign to try the others just for the fun of it. Imagine having a buffet breakfast decked out in a bathrobe at Obendrauf, the pool restaurant! There is NimmDirSelbst (self-serve) in the pool area for spa guests and there’s AchSoHeiss, a sauna bar for refreshments. Full dress is required at Lebensfroh (buffet) and GonnDirWas (café.) Reservations are recommended for Feine Sachen “Fine Things” restaurant, the recipient of Gault-Millau and A la Carte awards for excellence in Austrian and International dining. Go for a great mix at the cocktail bar, Klimbim - exotic drinks and evening entertainment.

Will I come again? You bet! Who could forget the pink, blue and yellow hues radiating in the sunshine and the gold onion dome backed by a setting sun? Or climbing to the grasscovered rooftops to look at spectacular Blumau - thanks to Bettina of Guest Relations who showed me how to get up there.

And speaking of Blumau, the little village that Rogner’s dream brought to life, it is absolutely worth a visit. Following a path through the property, past grapevines, a small gift shop with local produce, preserves and handcrafted items, my friend, Sally, and I take an afternoon walk. I want to see the village, she wants to go to the pharmacy to make a purchase. The main street has a restaurant, residential properties, a church, some lodging, one gas station and a post office. It’s only on our return that we actually see a couple of visitors out for a stroll.

At first glance Rogner-Bad Blumau is bewildering, being there is enlightening and leaving is encouraging because I know this is a place I want to return to again and again.