Bad Blumau, AUSTRIA
Airing Date: Mar 29th, 2004
Located 90 minutes from the Austrian capital of Vienna is Bad Blumau. It looks like a giant inhabitable work of art, but it's actually a spa resort, designed by eccentric architect Fredensreich Hundertwasser. The spa is based on the philosophy of the architect, who believed humans are surrounded by 3 layers: skin, clothes and the buildings we live in.
Nestled in the gently rolling hills of the Styrian hot springs region, the architecturally eccentric hotel and leisure facility is the ideal place for relaxation and regeneration. The entire place is designed to relax the visitor - even the pathways around the property are textured because Fredensreich believed that walking on uneven surfaces was like a symphony for the feet.
Besides the total escapism provided by the architecture (think Dr Seuss in 3D) Bad Blumau offers extensive and rather unusual treatments. One of the most bizarre would have to be the hay wrap, which involves lying on a treatment table completely covered in hay then being wrapped up in a cover. It's supposed to be great for rheumatic pain but if you suffer from hay fever, it might not be that attractive. Other treatments include shiatsu, clay wraps, chalk wraps and even a wine wrap. There's also a Cleopatra bath, draff cocoon or a Hawaiian massage.
If you fancy getting your whole body wet, dip into the thermal springs. There's 2.5 square kilometres of bubbling pure natural mineral water at the spa and it's at 36 degrees every day of the year.
There are a big variety of sauna facilities too; a Finnish-style indoor sauna, a Roman sweat bath, a Turkish steam bath, an aroma cave, a whirlpool, and an outdoor cold water pool and rock sauna.
It's not only your outside that gets pampered at Bad Blumau. Once you've pampered yourself head to toe, head to their restaurant for indulgence of a different kind. The food is second to none, with gourmet meals like beetroot dumpling soup and chocolate lasagne.
The facts:
Jetset and Tempo Holidays have a two night spa package at Bad Blumau starting from $306 per person.
Jetset
Tel: 13 63 83
Thai Airways International flies to Frankfurt in Germany with their UK/Europe dollar deals starting at $2167 from the east coast and $2033 from the west. From there you can jump on a connecting flight to Vienna for around $530.
Thai Airways International
Tel: 1300 651 960
These prices are valid for travel between 1 June, 2004 and 23 July, 2004.
