Stand-Up Paddling

After an inspiring ride on the tur­quoise-blue waters of Lake Kaltern, you can step onto the shore in James Bond style and immerse yourself in a film-like backdrop of mustard yellow, oxide red and olive green. At the See­hotel Ambach in South Tyrol, the SUP tour is like tra­velling back in time to the 1970s. Stranded on the nor­thern shore, the ship-like futu­ristic building sweeps into the land­scape to look out over the water and moun­tains through floor-to-ceiling windows. A skilful balancing act between ori­ginal interior and modern design.

Villa Jones stretches long and narrow like a wooden plank into the densely over­grown hilly land­scape of the Haut Var between the Verdon Gorge and the Côte d’Azur. This makes the holiday home, designed by London archi­tects, Margot and Edward Jones, the perfect starting point for a wide variety of paddling tours – whether with light-footed flair in Fréjus in the south of France or against a spec­ta­cular Grand Canyon backdrop on the Verdon. The building is just as ver­satile: on the one hand clean and mini­malist, on the other with a pic­turesque pergola planted with vines and jasmine.

Either of the Aegean Sea and the sleepy fishing village or on the daily stand-up paddling tour – because the natural stone villas of the same name in the sou­thern part of the Pelion pen­insula are just a few minutes from the sea. You can set off from the Kal­lithea Villas before breakfast or float com­for­tably back to the tran­quility of the evening before grilling freshly caught fish on the pan­o­ramic terrace – the origin of today’s SUP trend, which goes back to the Poly­nesian fishermen off Tahiti, who mano­euvred through the waves of the Pacific while balancing upright in their canoes.

The heritage listed holiday home in Blan­ken­berge, Belgium, is not only sui­table for gathering the whole extended family around the sculp­tu­rally curving table under sophisti­cated ceiling pain­tings, but also for streng­thening team spirit at work or with friends. Up to 24 guests will find an artful blend of Art Nouveau and zeit­geist here to centre them­selves and relax. The latter is best done directly on the sea in front of the door. After all, stand-up paddling tog­ether streng­thens the group dynamic.

Casa Navegna in tranquil Minusio near Locarno has made sure that nothing gets out of hand on holiday and has two SUP boards ready for its guests. The lakeshore is just a few steps away, allowing you to paddle off into the azure blue of Lake Mag­giore at any time of day and leave the stress of everyday life behind you as you move to the rhythm of the water. The only obs­tacle: once you have landed in the paradise-like garden of the impressive pro­perty or in the UFO on the roof, you won’t want to leave any time soon. Because here, func­tional archi­tecture, modern courage and sensual joie de vivre merge into a place to be.

The Mühl­radhof and an SUP tour have a great deal in common. Both offer peace and reduction, bring us back into balance and make us happy. So just as well that the over 360-year-old, forest-covered and meti­cu­lously revi­ta­lised farm in the Rai­tenbuch valley is located right between Titi- and Schluchsee, the largest lakes in the Black Forest. For children and beg­inners, the Windgfäll­weiher reservoir two kilo­metres away offers even better con­di­tions, including its own SUP kiosk for renting boards. After­wards, you can dry off by the tiled stoves in the farm­house living-room or relax on the ter­races.

In Hawaii, only the king and a select few were once allowed to cross the water standing on a bamboo raft. Gliding directly into the water from the private jetty of the elegant archi­tect’s villa Das Refugium [The Refuge] on Lake Neu­siedl on one of the villa’s own two boards you are likely to feel simi­larly majestic. Straight­forward archi­tecture, no-frills, exquisite inte­riors, high-quality mate­rials and a private pool make for a pleasant time-out at the Refugium. From the comfort of your bed, the view of the glis­tening green lake is enticing, allowing you to drift through the day with a sense of balance.