Happy Birthday to me

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Happy Birthday to me. I woke up to sunshine and clear blue skies. We had breakfast at our Bachman's stand along with Lake. Then we walked towards the Kapellbrucke. We decided to walk the wall of the City of Luzern today, so we headed towards that. Along the way, because it was hard not to, we window shopped. The shops are opened later today (Thursday), so we kept our eyes open to see what shops we'll head back to after our touring.

After walking along the wall, we headed to the Bourbaki Panorama. The Bourbaki Panorama dates back to 1881 and is only one of the few remaining original circular paintings that have survived. It's displayed in 3-D panorama and depicts General Bourbaki rescuing the French in the harsh winter of 1871. About 87,000 soldiers were interned by the Swiss for several weeks, but in order for the help and shelter, the French were required to relinquish all weapons and until all supplies were repaid, the weapons remained with the Swiss.

After Bourbaki, we found the Lion monument on top of the hill. The Lion Monument is carved into a cliff. The mighty lion rests his paws on a shield, with his head cocked to one side, tears streaming down his cheeks. In his side is the broken-off spear. This represents the Swiss mercenaries who were killed defending the French King in the French Revolution.

After the Lion, we went thru the Glacier Gardens. Its a museum which walks you thru the the glacial era of Luzern and demonstrates how the glaciers exists and come to be. As something fun, there was also a mirror maze. It's like a human kaleidescope. It was a little scary and slightly nauseating, but all in good fun.

Afterwards, we had lunch at the Swiss Stuebli and I had the Luzerner Pastetli. Yummy chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce. After lunch, headed back to finish up our walk along the wall and got some great views of Luzern. Then we walked the town shopped to our hearts content. We returned to the hotel and a rest before deciding to head back out to town for dinner. Art Deco surprised me with a bottle of celebratory champagne. Total surprise, but loved it. The birthday celebration finished up with dinner at Restaurant Rathaus Brauerei. Bratwurst and French Fries, YUMMO! Being 40 is not so bad after all.

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