The Works: Swiss National Day in Au

I'm not sure if it was guilt for not doing anything on the 4th of July or the desire to not be totally lame on the 1st of August that prompted us to celebrate the Swiss National Holiday, but we did and did it our way.

First, we decided we wanted to have a little barbecue of burgers (with all the fixings), St. Galler sausages, and beer. Then we figured we should invite some friends. Luckily, we know a fellow American couple who live nearby and also didn't want to be lame on Saturday, so we had them and their two children over along with another American couple who had just returned from holidays in the States the night before. Hey, if we're all stuck in Rheintal, might as well be in good company! (Just kidding -- it's not terrible out here at all, if you don't mind feeling like you're out in the middle of nowhere.)

Next, we needed a grill. Meet Big Red. Isn't she a beauty? We found her at Do-It Migros for reduced price! Isaiah was very pleased at how well she cooked up our meats. It looks like we may do some more grilling around here!

Finally, for entertainment, at about 9 pm we took a seat on our couch, opened all the windows in our flat, and enjoyed the fireworks going off all around us. What a show! Beautiful white sparkling ones burst from the Protestant church parking lot, bright green ones from one of the hilltop restaurants (plus a rather alarmingly large bonfire), and neighbors set off their sparklers right below us. We scurried from window to window to see which ones were coming from where. It was quite a noisy spectacle that lasted about an hour or so. The best part was watching our neighbors pick up and properly dispose of all the mess they had made with their fireworks.