From a regular guest to an owner
Germany has more than 500 youth hostels, but the house on Wangerooge Island is one of the most unusual. It’s a west tower, a former reference point for ships. As a landmark of the island, the building is protected as a listed historic monument. The seven-story tower has served as a youth hostel for 85 years, and one of its most regular guests will stay forever now as a permanent member of staff.
With its 56-metre-high tower and pointed roof, the slender red-brick building is clearly visible from afar. The rooms have a view of the island, the mud flats and the North Sea. This hostel is surrounded by nature, cars are not allowed, there is a bird protection area right next to the hostel and it’s a 45-minute walk to the village of Wangerooge.
Guests visit the hostel to find some tranquillity. This is one of the reasons why Wolfgang Schlechta likes to come here. Originally from Bayern, he would regularly drive 650 kilometres to the coast in his car for a breath of fresh sea air. Now he is the caretaker at the place where, for 13 years, he was a holidaymaker. People know straight away that he’s not from the island, as his strong dialect gives him away. Nonetheless, he has found his new home in the North of Germany.
The west tower and the adjoining modern building are his territory, and he is responsible for all sorts of maintenance and repair works – tightening the key cylinders of the doors, fixing reading lights and dripping taps. There is always lots to do and each day has different tasks in store.
As a trained carpenter, Wolfgang Schlechta used to build his own furniture, as well as the stage decorations for his theatre group back home. He started the group himself and was a member of its board for 20 years. The last play the group put on was called “Wenn einer Reise tut” (“When one travels”). Wolfgang Schlechta took his last journey with two chickens on his lap that he had brought with him from home.
He has built a coop for the chickens in Wangerooge, but they still escape on a regular basis. It takes a few minutes before he manages to catch Berta. He then strokes her white feathers and holds her up for a boy to stroke her, too. Wolfgang Schlechta used to love going to Wangerooge on holiday. They always came in August and got room number 33. “It was great because there are no cars here,” says the 54-year-old. He worked as a bus driver for 20 years and was always happy to get away from the motor noises and traffic.
Two years ago, the caretaker at the time asked him if he’d like to take over his job. He moved to the island, only half the size of his home town, in 2016. “I haven’t regretted it for a moment,” says Wolfgang Schlechta.
His wife also found a position in the youth hostel, and they moved into the small house next to the hostel together. He also took on the small bike shed and turned it into a bicycle rental shop. His daughter-in-law is a bicycle mechanic and taught him how to repair bikes whilst on holiday on the island. Wolfgang spends around one third of his day on the bike shop, and the rest of the time on being a caretaker.
Despite all the benefits of life on the island, Wolfgang misses the 40-square-meter property with its miniature model train set he had to leave behind. It took him two years to set up the miniature landscape and the 20 wagons of the freight train. “I think the model train set is the only thing I miss,” he says today. But he has had an idea: “My dream is to have an outdoor railway for the youth hostel.”
Now it’s time for Wolfgang to get back to work sanding down tables. It will be a while before the guests get back and return their rented bicycles. When he has finished his work, he might just go down to the beach and enjoy the sunset, the wind and the waves.
