Independence Days

On Saturday, July 7th, we gathered with some friends to celebrate Independence Day! Since we couldn't really celebrate the day of American Independence on the 4th, our American friends and a few other non-American friends who have lived in America gathered on a hill overlooking the town of Kappelrodek (about 20 minutes south of us) to do a good ol' American barbeque!

Here's our view of Kappelrodek from our grill site:



A chapel dedicated to men from the area who died in the World Wars, just up from our grill site:



Karl was our Grillmeister:







The following Saturday, July 14th, was an important holiday next door in France. Karl and I decided to spend part of our day in Strasbourg, France, to help celebrate Bastille Day. The storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789, is considered the beginning of the French Revolution as the people fought to create a democracy and the date now commemorates the beginning of modern France.



The Strasbourg Cathedral:









We also wandered through an old and quaint neighborhood of Strasbourg known as "Petite France":







It was fun to celebrate the struggle for democracy for two countries this month!