What Wolfgang Schewe tackles flourishes. The man from Rügen left the GDR for political reasons and was successful as an engineer. In 1990, he came back to the island - as a wholesaler for ice cream. But he found his true fulfillment as a hotelier in Binz. To the great delight of the guests
On one side the beach and the sea and the wide-stretched sky over the Baltic Sea, on the other some of the most beautiful historic villas in the whole of Rügen: Wolfgang Schewe could be envious of such a commute. While others are stuck in traffic jams in the morning or have to sprint to catch the subway, he can stroll to the office - stroll? Is that the right term? Oh no, he says, he would rather say he goes to work. On an island, everything is a bit smaller, he says, and he's certainly not the only one. "I'm just lucky enough to be able to walk from home to the hotel along the beach promenade in Binz." He ponders for a brief moment, as if he doesn't want to be misunderstood now, "I could even surf to work. Actually."
One of those people who jumps at the chance. Schewe is actually a graduate engineer for building services. He left the GDR for political reasons, returned to Rügen in 1990 and supplied the island with ice cream as a wholesaler. His Sahara was a legendary island meeting place, an ice cream parlor with an adjoining jazz club or a jazz club with an adjoining ice cream parlor, a cult place in any case and an institution for ice cream lovers and music lovers. Then, in the mid-nineties, when he had the opportunity to work on the Sahara-Property the hotel by the sea Schewe seized the opportunity - even though it was a risk, of course. He often slept badly at the time, he recalls, because it was all new to him and a hotel with 60 rooms was a huge project. "But deep down I always knew that I could do it. And when I saw how comfortable the first guests felt - I felt a deep sense of satisfaction."
Creating something that others enjoy: That's probably part of his success. And perhaps it's also in Wolfgang Schewe's genes. His parents ran a bakery in Gingst; together with his brother, he helped out in the store during the summer vacations. He says he picked up a lot of the things that define him today back then: the meticulousness, the diligence, the attention to detail and to the quality of a product. That things have to be made with dedication to be perfect - that, too. "But what impressed me the most was when I saw how happy my parents were after work. When they realized: 'What we do in our little bakery, people like it.' I probably knew as a child that I would like to feel that way later as an adult."
Shewe's Hotel by the Sea became a huge success, and of course he could have left it at that. But he didn't. In 2018, he bought a listed Art Nouveau villa with a modern extension on the beach promenade, renovated it extensively - and opened the Nixe as a boutique hotel with spa and restaurant. That would be something again, he thought at the time, another new project, another challenge - but this time with all the experience he now possessed as a hotelier. "And yet it was a kind of pioneering time again," he says. The Nixe, with its eight beautifully airy rooms (there are eight more in the annex), stands where Binz is at its most majestic. Where the white villas in the style of spa architecture are strung together like pearls on a diadem. Where you sometimes have to squint your eyes on sunny days, so everything glistens and shines.
Wolfgang Schewe likes the beach promenade - but he loves the fishing beach a little further out. And the beech forest that begins there and stretches up the coast, "it's so quiet there, you can hear the trees creak and creak." In general, he appreciates the quiet sides of Binz. The Bodden. And Schmachter See, especially in the afternoon, "it still has sun very late." But his absolute favorite spot is the Blue Moon Lounge, up in the glass dome atop the Hotel am Meer, a place for looking out and looking in. He's 67 now, and daughter Johanna has long since been integrated into the business. But to stop? He watches the seagulls playing tag over the sea, stands there and looks out at the beach and the sea, and somehow also at the whole, wide world. Then he turns around and makes his way home. He can walk, it's not far.
By train comfortably and without traffic jams to Rügen: Plan arrival.
The Baltic Sea coast, the Mecklenburg lake district, historic Hanseatic cities: reasons for a Vacation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there are many.
