We got up on Sunday and decided to explore Lucerne a bit more before we returned to Munich.  Our main goal in heading back to the city center was to get the girls some macaroons since the they had never had them.  We had tried to get some macaroons on our first night in Lucerne, but the bakery was closed by the time we finished dinner.  Then we tried to get some macaroons after our day on Mount Titlis, but by the time we got there, the bakery was closed again.  This time…success!

After getting macaroons, we walked around the city center a bit more.  We had already had a great time exploring at night, and it was fun to see the city in the daylight.

We enjoyed watching the ducks and swans. They looked so graceful, but the water was so clear that you could see their webbed feet, which made them look kind of goofy.

We grabbed some crackers from the car to feed them. The seagulls and pigeons were very pushy, so Cassie and Lydie had to throw the crackers very close to the swans.

Julie grabbed some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, which she loved and the girls didn’t.  We strolled around the small streets of the old town.  Tucked away in a small plaza we found a beautiful fountain.

We also met a Swiss boy.   Cassie and Lydie thought he was handsome and wanted to take a pictures with him.  We hope they will keep in touch.

I think Cassie dazzled him with one of her best smiles.  Yowza!

(Cassie calls this particular smile “the Stinkeye.”)

The last thing we did in Lucerne was to go to see the Lion of Lucerne, a monument to Swiss solders who died in France during the French revolution in 1792.  Some of the soldiers were captured and guillotined.  The monument itself was completed in 1821.  We’re not Swiss, and the soldiers would have been dead for more than a century even if they had grown to be old men.  But the monument still left a powerful impression on all of us.  As Cassie said more than a few times, “It’s just so sad!”

Then, we headed back to Munich.  On the way home we ate at a wonderful Scottish restaurant in a small Bavarian town called “McDonalds.”  The kids said the food was great.  Ah, Europe!