Hotel hallways in Austria are dark and unlit until one is caught by a motion sensor or one finds the illusive light switch. Thus, a hallway is the perfect place for a bat to hide. Frightened by the sudden surge of light, a bat will of course fly haphazardly and crazily around the small cramped space.
Upon our return to our hotel from a wonderfully successful Bach and Sons performance at the Stadtpfarrkirche in Ried, Austria, we were greatly surprised by a bat flying in our direction as the hallway light illuminated our room door.
Making our way to the hotel proprietor to tell him of our unusual discovery (actually the first time either of us had ever encountered a bat in a hotel), the bat made a hasty exit to another part of the building. Telling the proprietor in our sadly lacking German that there was a bat at large in his hotel proved to be an interesting conversation.
Was ist los?
Da ist ein "bat" im Hotel?
Was? Was ist los mit dein Bett?
Nein! Nein! Da ist ein "bat" - (now making hand motions and frantic gestures to indicate a bat not a bed)
Armed with this bit of information we determined that a bat -- or Fledermaus -- in a hotel hallway in Ried, Austria was rather commonplace! All part of the local color adding to the memories of our wonderful visit and Bach and Sons performance in Ried!
