Everywhere around me, undulating shapes and colorful mosaics fill my view. In the small thermal spa town of Bad Blumau, Austria, the rather amazing Rogner Bad Blumau spa resort offers not only a healing respite, but an artistic landscape that adds its own element of wellbeing. The complex of buildings and pools that form the resort are a kind of bathing wonderland imagined into being by developer Robert Rogner — complete with a poolside volcano that erupts on queue with a pyrotechnic show on select occasions.

I spent most of my first few hours at the property getting gloriously lost. The bright, colorful rooflines of the resort buildings are an imaginative mix of domes and turrets and half-underground spaces that look as though they were drawn from myths and fairytales. And they were, in a way: They’re the creation of late Austrian-born architect, artist and environmentalist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who briefly studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and was approached by developer Robert Rogner to design his vision of the ultimate spa resort.

Rogner Bad Blumau © Hundertwasser Architekturprojekt

Rooms are lovely and luxurious without being stuffy. A collection of outstanding restaurants range from a wine bar, seasonal food truck and gourmet steakhouse to fine dining, on-site coffeehouse and the Naschkammer — a lobby alcove filled with chocolates and other treats.

There’s a walking path around the property’s river park lined with rare trees, each marked with a sign inscribed with lore from Celtic Tree Astrology that corresponds to birthdays. My tree turns out to be a common oak, said to be a generous and stabilizing force. Returning to my room on the upper floor of the main building to change into my swimsuit for a circuit among the thermal pools, I pause long enough to enjoy the view from my Juliet balcony overlooking trees and an abundance of greenery.

Wide corridors with undulating tiles lead to the dining area and to the entrance of the thermal pools, each fed by one of three different natural, mineral-rich springs of varying temperatures. There’s a peaceful quiet, inspired by the philosophy of replacing chatter with tranquility. A salt chamber, spa rooms, Ayurvedic treatments and a multitude of resting spaces tucked into rooms adjoining indoor and outdoor pools become additionally magical at night, when outdoor fires illuminate the water and the curls of steam rising from a host of watery surfaces.

Just as I’m ready to find my towel and head off to bed, a spa attendant directs me to go to the outdoor pool near the Vulkania spring. Here, a manmade volcano rises from a mound at the head of the pool. As I’m relaxing in the spring waters, a rumble issues from within the volcano — followed by an eruption of smoke, fire and sparkling fireworks. It’s enchanting, and completely unexpected. I’m still thinking of it as I enjoy breakfast the next morning, a feast compiled from an enormous buffet spread throughout the main dining room. Dishes were created from local organic products sourced by head chef Johann Schuster. I leave to catch my morning train with a great deal of reluctance, already planning a return in the not-too-distant future. It will take more than a single visit to explore and experience all Rogner Bad Blumau has to offer.