A four-hour train ride from Vienna brings you to a small town Feldon on the Lake of Wörthersee, a scenic lake surrounded by hills. After a very short taxi ride you’re find yourself at the doorsteps of Viva Mayr clinic. It’s not my first time here, I’ve been a few times and more. The first time I was told about the clinic I was skeptical, not because of the clinic itself, just in general I am not the type who rarely visits spas or clinics.

I can say that Viva Meyer is a place where you find all kinds of people, from all over the world and these days there are many Russians, Indians, British, Europeans and numerous Austrians. You can pick and choose your program after your kinesiology examination and from there the rest is history.

There isn’t much to do on these rainy days and if you enjoy duck weather, you can swim in the lake or walk in the forests, which is a frequent activity at Viva Mayr.

The facilities are excellent in most rooms have views on the lake, and you will not be disappointed by the kitchen unless you’re grossly overweight, and in that case you will have soup and complain about starving. During my stay here I always do the cooking course, and watch the how easy it is to make a Viva Mayr soup. The oils, grains, honey, vinegar are all selected for their quality and purity by the head chef Emanuela Fischer. I particularly enjoy this simple of a few ingredients and it reminds me of miso soup because it is very simple and based on a few ingredients.

This recipe is as simple as it gets. You take Hokkaido squash and some broth made from grated vegetables and mix in some herbs, reduce and you have a base stock. Then you take some root vegetables, carrots, cut them and simply add a bay leaf and a pinch of nutmeg. Then after some 15mins of cooking time you puree the mixture and voila, an excellent soup.