Wooden Flower Cart

Make hay while the sun shines! The Austrian spa where the countryside comes inside

There's no need to worry, my therapist assures me, as the Wiesenhof’s spa treatment promises only positive side effects. The steam-heated hay is said to draw out toxins, ease aches and pains and stimulate the cardiovascular system. Its healing powers have been harnessed in Austria for centuries.

The hotel’s owner Johannes Entner ensures guests get the best results by using organically-grown hay harvested from his own meadow. The grass is hand-cut, along with flowers and herbs, dried in the sun and then steam-heated to 41C.

Other local flora and fauna pop up on the spa menu - there is also a mountain herb bath - but the star ingredient in most of the treatments is Tyrolean Shale Oil, which is mined locally in the Karwendel mountains.

The thick, pungent oil boasts natural healing properties thanks to its high content of organically-bound sulphur and is said to ease muscle cramps, joint pains, arthritis and skin irritations.

For €26 (£23) you can relax in a 20-minute shale oil bath in a giant wooden bathtub from which you can take in the soothing vista of the mountains from which it is extracted.

Another of Johannes’ innovative treatments is the wooden ‘sound bed’. It is based on Tibetan resonance therapy and features 52 piano strings which, when plucked by a therapist, create deep tones and vibrations that pulse through your body and help to calm the mind and leave you feeling thoroughly relaxed.

Needless to say, the Wiesenhof hotel is all about well-being, something that the Austrians know a lot about. Built 300 years ago, it is one of the oldest houses in the village of Pertisau and is run by a third generation of Entners - Johannes and his wife Alexandra - having been handed on to Johannes by his parents who still help out.

The hotel motto is ‘arrive as a guest and leave as a friend’ and thankfully this isn’t a hollow cliché.

Despite catering to 66 bedrooms,

The four-star hotel is a homely mix of traditional Tyrolean style and contemporary design and our room was modern and light, with crisp white sheets and an abundance of Alpine wood.

Most of the rooms have a balcony. Ours sadly didn't but it did boast perfect views of the serene Lake Achensee - a vast expanse of calm turquoise water framed by the regal Austrian Alps and a pretty meadow dotted with dandelions and buttercups.

Design Inventions: Flower Cart

I've chosen another Northwoods stamp to share on this card.  I colored it with my Copic Markers and I must admit the pile just kept growing.  There are 26 colors on the card which includes the background airbrushing. I used the Curved Rectangles Spellbinders die for the image and for the fence I pulled out one of my old Sizzix dies.  The fence was cut from Real Cherry Wood paper by Creative Imaginations.  Using some Distress Ink, I colored the leaves of some paper flowers and glued a resin flower in the middle.  The sentiment  and ribbon is from Stampin' UP!

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