Shri Nathji's Great Road Trip to Europe

Shri Nathji undertook two tours to Europe. The first one was in 1964. He was accompanied by Mahamateshwariji, HH Pran Nathji and a polish acquaintance,who met Shri Nathji at a meeting and then later offered to drive them to France. He was not a professional driver who was engaged for driving purposes on a fee. This was a three day trip to France. After Leaving London, Shri Nathji’s first stop was the The port city of Dover. To go to Dover, Shri Nathji took the M20 highway is a motorway from Kent, on the outskirts of London. Kent is a beautiful town and is known by the name – “The garden of Engalnd”. Shri Nathji must have enjoyed to beautiful garden and orchards of this area. From Kent the M20 Highway  runs 81.4 km to Dover.

The Port of Dover is one of Europe's largest passenger ports and the nearest English port to France at just 21 miles (34 kilometres). With millions of passengers, cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses passing through the Port of Dover on cross channel ferries each year, it's no wonder it is known as the 'gateway to Europe'.

Presently, there's a cross channel ferry departure on average every 30 minutes from Dover, when taken across all operator schedules.

On a clear day, it is possible to see the opposite coastline and shoreline buildings with the naked eye, and the lights of land at night, as in Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach". There is a photograph (On the right) of Dover beach on a clean day were Europe can be visible on the other side.

Shri Nathji had crossed the English Channel in a large ship that carried HH Pran Nath's car. The Port of Dover witnessed God preparing to cross the English Channel.

The English Channel often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 560 km (350 mi) long and varies in width from 240 km (150 mi) at its widest to 34 km (21 mi) in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km2. The Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais), at the Channel's eastern end is its narrowest point. (A satellite photo of the Strait of Dover is given on left).  All major Channel crossing between England and France takes place on this stretch. The busiest seaway in the world, the English Channel, connects Great Britain and mainland Europe sailing mainly to French ports, such as Calais, Boulogne, Dunkerque, Dieppe, Cherbourg-Octeville, Caen, St Malo and Le Havre. Some ferries carry mainly tourist traffic, but most also carry freight, and some are exclusively for the use of freight lorries. In Britain, car-carrying ferries (a photograph of one is given above), in which Shri Nathji traveled are sometimes referred to as RORO (roll-on, roll-off) for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave.

After crossing the Channel, Shri Nathji came to the historic city of Calais in France. Calais is a town and major ferry port in northern France. A photogaph of the beautiful port of Calais is given here. Due to its position, Calais since the Middle Ages has been a major port and a very important centre for transport and trading with England. It was annexed by Edward III of England in 1347.  Calais was a territorial possession of England until its capture by France in 1558. The town came to be called the "brightest jewel in the English crown" owing to its great importance as the gateway for the tin, lead, lace and wool trades. It played an important role in the Napoleonic wars and the two world wars.

After reaching Calais, Shri Nathji traveled between Calais to Paris on French Nation Highway - A16. (All French National Highways start with A, and then the number. A stands for Autoroute) Now under the European Highway numbering  system this route comprises parts of  E15, E19 and E16. This route was and still remains a toll free highway. On route Shri Nathji passed through the town s of Bethune, Arras and Campigne.  This route between London and Paris via Calais is shown in this road  map, were London is marked A, Calais B and Paris as C.  

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France. An important settlement for more than two millennia, Paris had become, by the 12th century, one of Europe's foremost centres of learning and the arts and the largest city in the Western world until the 18th century. Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, media, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is "La Ville-Lumière" ("The City of Light"), a name it owes first to its fame as a centre of education and ideas during the Age of Enlightenment, and later to its early adoption of street lighting.

Shri Nathji blessed the city of Paris from the Eiffel Tower. Pran Nath and Mateshwari were with him. High up in the Tower stood the Creator of the world casting his hands outwards at the continent of Europe and all its citizens, blessing them in an unseen, inconspicuous gesture.

The Eiffel Tower nicknamed , the iron lady is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 7.1 million people ascended it in 2011. The third level observatory's upper platform is at 279.11 m the highest accessible to public in the European Union.

The tower stands 320 metres (1,050 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world. a title it held for half a century.

The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift (elevator), to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants. The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

Shri Nathji also visited Napoleon's Tomb and stood in silence for a brief moment. Perhaps it was to grant salvation to that tormented soul that Shri Nathji had set foot in Paris.

Napoleon's Tomb is located in Les Invalides area of Paris. It is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, as well as the burial site for some of France's war heroes, notably Napoleon Bonaparte. The Tomb of Nepolean is located at the Chapel of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, a building built in 1679. An article of Shri Nathj’s visit Nepoleon’s Tomb has already been posted in the blog which can been viewed by clicking here.

While touring Paris, and going between the Eiffel Tower and Nopolean’s Tomb, Shri Nathji must has passed through The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris, where the Bastille prison stood until the 'Storming of the Bastille' and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. This is a major square in Paris and the birth place of Democretic Revolution in the world.  Also on the way is The Place de la Concorde which is the largest public square in Paris, France measuring 21.3 acres in area. The center of the Place is occupied by a giant Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramses II. It was given by the Egyptian government to the French in the nineteenth century.

Shri Nathji also could not have missed seeing, the highest point of Paris, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, locally known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica. It is an amazingly beautiful Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. After the Eiffil Tower it is perhaps the second most important landmark of the city.

After touring Paris Shri Nathji returned to Calais by the same route and took the Ferry back to Dover and then to London by the M20 highway. 
This was Shri Nathji's first tour to mainland Europe.

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Shri Nathji took a longer second tour of mainland Europe in 1965, when He visited, Belgium. Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland in about 10 days. This was infect the longest road trip of His life. It was swift and dramatic. He did not halt in the way to meet anyone. He had no schedules for lectures. He drove through the land, bestowing his blessings upon it. To be inconspicuous, He travelled without his turban, in a royal blue shervaani and white chooridars. No European could have imagined Shri Nathji was God in human form. Shri Nathji did not grant them the insight. The concept of the avatar was peculiar to India only. For the western nations, God was ever to remain invisible. And Shri Nathji enjoyed the anonymity. He could travel freely without being recognised.

 This time only Mahamatashwariji and HH Pran Nathji were there with Him. HH Pran Nathji did the driving during this tour.

Again leaving London, Shri Nathji’s first stop was the The port city of Dover. He undertook the 80 mile journey from London to Dover by the M 20 Highway.  From Dover Shri Nathji  takes a Ferry, this time to Ostend in Belgium. (A photo of this port city is given on the right) HH Pran Nathji recalls that the people in Ostent were very helpful and guided them well.

From Ostend Shri Nathji took the Highway A 10 upto Brussels. A10 is also part of the longest European Highway E 40.

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union (EU). Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a main centre for international politics. Hosting principal EU institutions  as well as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the city has become the polyglot home of numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. It is also a very beautiful city and Shri Nathji got to visit it twice. Once when He came to the city from Ostend. Second time, when He had to return from the German Border to get visa and He again came back to Brussels to visit the Indian Embassy. The architecture in Brussels is diverse, and spans from the medieval constructions on the Grand Place to the postmodern buildings of the EU institutions. Main attractions include the Grand Place, since 1988 a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Gothic town hall in the old centre, the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral and the Laken Castle with its large greenhouses. Another famous landmark is the Royal Palace.

HH Pran Nathji said that Shri Nathji visited these palaces which were building by King Leopold II of Belgium. He saw the castle at Laken, which is a residential suburb in north-west Brussels. The castle was built at Laeken between 1782-1784 after the plans of the French architect Charles de Wailly under supervision of Louis Montoyer as a summer residence for the Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen. Jean-Joseph Chapuis provided the royal furnitures.

Shri Nathji saw Parc du Cinquantenaire, which is a large public, urban park (30 hectares) in the easternmost part of Brussels.  Most buildings of the U-shaped complex which dominate the park were commissioned by the Belgian government under the patrondom of King Leopold II for the 1880 National Exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence, and successive exhibitions which place in the same area, replacing previous constructions . The present centrepiece triumphal arch was erected in 1905 replacing a previous temporary version of the arcade by Gédéon Bordiau. The structures were built in iron, glass and stone, symbolising the economic and industrial performance of Belgium. The surrounding 30 hectare park esplanade was full of picturesque gardens, ponds and waterfalls. It housed several trade fairs, exhibitions and festivals at the beginning of the century. Since 1930 it has become a leisure park

Shri Nathji saw The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) which is an ethnographical and natural history museum in Tervuren, near Brussels, Belgium. It was first built to showcase King Leopold II's Congo Free State for the 1897 World Exhibition.

But The most well known icon of Brussels is the Atomium. There is a photograph of Shri Nathji visiting the Atomium in Brussels.  The Atomium is an iconic building in Brussels originally constructed for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn with interiors by architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18 m (59 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

Tubes connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre. They enclose escalators and a lift to allow access to the five habitable spheres which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels.

It is also written in Amar Jyoti, that Shri Nathji found Belgium to be very beautiful. 

From Brussels, Shri Nathji proceeded towards the German Border. On the way were the Belgian towns of Leuven, Liège and Eupen. Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometers east of Brussels. It is home to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer group and one of the top five largest consumer goods companies in the world; and to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the largest and oldest university of the Low Countries (Collective name of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) and the oldest Catholic university still in existence. Only the province of Liege in Belgium, shares a border with Germany. So Shri Nathji got to see this beautiful region. The city of Liege (which is the capital of Liege provence) is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders with the Netherlands and Germany, where the river Meuse meets the Ourthe. Next is Eupen which is only 15 km from the German border. On reaching the German border, Shri Nathji understood that a separate Visa for Germany need to be taken in order to enter Germany. So they went back to the Indian Embassy in Brussels and again came back to the border, by the same route. In the map below the route which Shri Nathji took to travel from Ostend to Brussels and Brussels to Aachen is shown in yellow color.

To travel From Brussels to the German border town of Aachen, Shri Nathji again  traveled on one of the Longest and most important highways of the world, E 40. European route E 40 is the longest European route, more than 8,000 kilometres long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border to China. Most of this road (From East Germany to the Chinese border) was made and developed by the former USSR. E 40 is part of the  international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).  UNECE was formed in 1947, and their first major act to improve road. The Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries, signed in Geneva on September 16, 1950, defined the first E-road network.

Then after crossing the border, Shri Nathji reached Aachen, which is a beautiful spa town. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost city of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. Aachen was the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. The  Aachen University, one of Germany's Universities of Excellence, is located in the city. Since Roman times, the hot springs at Aachen have been channeled into baths. These historical baths are the city’s main attraction.

It is mentioned in the Mahagranth, that in Germany, Shri Nathji's car was seen passing through the streets with tremendous speed. The trip was a race against time. It was "bed and breakfast" all the way, a swift passage through a city, a night's stay at a hotel, and back to the roads again. So it is unlikely that Shri Nathji got time to see the city and its famous baths. The rode route which Shri Nathji took from Aachen to Frankfurt is shown in the map bellow in Blue color.

After entering Germany Shri Nathji first visited Frankfurt. Now it is interesting to note that in Germany A stands for Autobahns, unlike France where and Belgium were A stands for Autoroute. Also Germany, France and most Europian countries follow the same naming and number system for their highways. i.e. A followed by a number. Moreover, they have exactly the same road sigh for their National Highways. (This is given in the Picture) Infect the Autorutes of the French and other Eurpopian countries are modeled on lines of the famous Autobhans of the Germans. So visitors to Europe think that the all grand highways of Western Europe are called Autobhans.

It is written in the Mahagranth that “ The summer of 1965 revealed a strange sight. God–travelling at high speed in a small Anglia Ford car, along the Autobahn highway of Europe. Pran Nath was behind the wheel; Shri Nathji and Mateshwari sat in the back seat.” The German autobahns form the nationally coordinated motorway system in Germany. In German, they are officially called Bundesautobahn, abbreviated 'BAB', which translates to "federal expressways". German autobahns have no general speed limit, These were the first, best of its kind high speed Highways in the world. Thus they become so famous and caught the imagination of the people in those times.

Just days after the 1933 Nazi takeover, Adolf Hitler enthusiastically embraced an ambitious autobahn construction project and appointed Fritz Todt, the Inspector General of German Road Construction, to lead up the project. By 1936, 130,000 workers were directly employed in construction, as well as an additional 270,000 in the supply chain for construction equipment, steel, concrete, signage, maintenance equipment, etc. In rural areas, new camps to house the workers were built near construction sites. The propaganda ministry turned the construction of the autobahns into a major media event that attracted international attention.

The autobahns formed the first limited-access, high-speed road network in the world, with the first section from Frankfurt am Main to Darmstadt opening in 1935. This straight section was used for high speed record attempts by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. The world record of 432 km/h (268 mph) set by Rudolf Caracciola on this stretch remains one of the highest speeds ever achieved on a public motorway.

German-built Autobhans in other countries as well. The first country to have one outside of Germany was Austria. Then Poland, Czechoslovakia and parts of former USSR (Which were occupied by the Soviets after World War Two) Many modern Highways, all over the world were build on lines of  the Autobhans.

From the border town of Aachen, Shri Nathji travelled to Frankfurt. He travelled along the main Highway is via Cologne, which bypasses Bonn and reaches Frankfurt. It includes the Highway A 4 and A 3. The route can be seen in the man as a blue line between A – Aachen and B – Frankfurt.

There are photographs of Shri Nathji’s stay at Frankfurt. It seems that he liked this place. 

Frankfurt, or Frankfort on the Main is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany and the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is the seat of the European Central Bank, the German Federal Bank, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the Frankfurt Trade Fair, as well as several large commercial banks.  The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) is by far Germany's largest, and is one of the world's most important. Frankfurt Airport is one of the world's busiest international airports, Frankfurt Central Station is one of the largest terminal stations in Europe, the Frankfurter Kreuz is one of the most heavily used Autobahn interchanges in Europe. where the autobahns A3 and A5 crisscross each other. The city had many beautiful historical buildings like Saint Paul's Church (Paulskirche) which is a national historic monument in Germany with great political symbolism, because it was the seat of the first democratically elected Parliament in 1848.

The city has many historical building like Saint Bartholomew's Cathedral (Dom Sankt Bartholomäus), named after Bartholomew the Apostle, is a gothic building which was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the Merovingian time. From 1356 onwards, kings of the Holy Roman Empire were elected in this church, and from 1562 to 1792, the Roman-German emperors were crowned here. Today, it is the main church of Frankfurt.

In Frankfurt  a very distressing incident occurred. Shri Nathji, Mateshwari and HH Pran Nath booked a room in a hotel. Leaving Mateshwari in the room, Shri Nathji and HH Pran Nath went out to purchase vegetarian food. They drove to a restaurant, purchased the eatables, and sought to find their way back to the hotel.

Suddenly, HH Pran Nath recalled that they had not bothered to note down the name of the hotel. Nor could they recollect the street or the area in which the hotel was located! Their knowledge of German was nil, and the Germans they stopped on the road could not understand them. HH Pran Nath drove the car frantically from street to street, searching for the hotel. Now and then they would meet a passer-by they could communicate with, but what could they ask him? They had booked themselves into a hotel. But they remembered neither the name of the hotel nor the area in which it was located. It seemed an impossible situation.

Hours passed. Mateshwari grew anxious in the hotel room. It was late in the night. There was no means of communicating with Shri Nathji. It was an awful moment for Mateshwari as well as Shri Nathji and HH Pran Nath. And then Shri Nathji recalled seeing the railway station somewhere in the vicinity of the hotel. They asked for directions to the railway station, and finally arrived at the hotel.

It is mentioned in the Mahagranth there were some problems about endorsements in the passport, so Shri Nathji visited the Indian Embassy in Bonn, to sort out the problem before proceeding to Switzerland. 

Shri Nathji went to Bonn from Frankfurt, travelling on the A 3 Highway. It has the Europian Highway Number – E 35. In the map above we can see the route Shri Nathji took between Frankurt to Bonn, which is shown in Blue color.  Bonn is a city on the banks of the Rhine River in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999. Even though Berlin replaced Bonn as the capital of united Germany in 1990, Bonn stays a centre of politics and administration. Roughly half of all government jobs and many government departments and numerous sub-ministerial level government agencies remain in Bonn. In recognition of this, the former capital holds the one-of-a-kind title of Federal City. Bonn is a historical town and was the residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors of Cologne, and is the birthplace of the legendry Music composer, Ludwig van Beethoven (born 1770). Bonn has developed into a hub of international cooperation in particular in the area of environment and sustainable development. In addition to a number of other international organizations and institutions, such as the IUCN Environmental Law Center (IUCN ELC), the city currently hosts 18 United Nations institutions. The city is home to the University of Bonn, one of Germany's most reputable institutions of higher learning.

In Bonn, there were some problems about endorsements in the passport, and HH Pran Nath drove around searching for the Indian Embassy. Shri Nathji got out of the car at one point, and went up to a stranger near a large government building. The man gave him directions to the best of his ability, and then brought his car and drove ahead of Shri Nathji's car, leading Shri Nathji to his destination.

Shri Nathji thanked the man profusely and asked for his name. The man was a leading public figure of Germany.

"Forget me, Sir," he said humbly to Shri Nathji.

"How can I forget you?" Shri Nathji said, "In order to forget you, I will have to remember you, and if I remember you, how can I forget you?"

The man was greatly pleased by Shri Nathji's logic and parted from him, a strange spiritual glow upon his face. Perhaps it was for that one man that Shri Nathji had gone to the city of Bonn. Unknown even to him, Shri Nathji had touched a divine spark in the man's soul, which would shine with brilliance at some time in the man's life.

From Bonn Shri Nathji went to Zurich in Swaitzerland. He went along Higway A 61and A 81 which as part of the European Highway system include E 41 and E 31. This route took Shri Nathji towns of Worms, Karlsrute and Stuttgart. In the map above we can see the route Shri Nathji took between Bonn to Zurich, which is shown in Blue color. Between Stuttgart and the Swiss border lies the famous Black Forest region. There has been a mention in the Mahagranth about Shri Nathji liking Black Forest Mountains, which are in the South west of the country. They are in the Beden Wurtemberg province of Germany, which is on route to Zurich in Switzerland. This information gives us a fair idea of the road route, which Shri Nathji took to travel from Bonn to Zurich. , The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft). The region is almost rectangular with a length of 160 km (99 mi) and breadth of up to 60 km (37 mi). The name Schwarzwald (German for "Black Forest") derives from the Romans who referred to the thickly forested mountains there as Silva Nigra (Latin for "Black Forest") because the dense growth of conifers in the forest blocked out most of the light inside the forest. In its west, river Rhine forms the border between Germany and France. The Vosges are a range of low mountains on the other side of the Rhile in France. Here river Rhine forms the border between France and Germany. 

Both side of the river are hilly and heavily forested. There is a remarkable similarity between the Vosges and the corresponding range of the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine: both lie within the same degrees of latitude, have similar geological formations and are characterized by forests on their lower slopes, above which are open pastures and rounded summits of a rather uniform altitude; furthermore, both exhibit steeper slopes towards the Rhine and a more gradual descent on the other side. In the South of Black forest the Rhine again form the border, this time between Germany and Switzerland. On the other side of the river are the beautiful Jura Mountains, which is also a forested area similar to the Black forest. Thus Black Forest, Vosges and Jura Hills together form a large beautiful, thickly wooded mountain landscape in Western Europe.

It is written in the Mahagranth that, Shri Nathji looked at the beautiful black forest of Germany, and the verse echoed in his mind :

Havaa maseeh nafas gasht va baad naafaa kushaa

Darakht sabz shudo murg dar kharosh aamad

The air is now invigorating and the breeze scatters scent,

The trees are turning green and the birds are singing.

It had been a long time since the Creator had visited the world he had created. Shri Nathji looked at the scene with satisfaction, like an artist looking upon his painting.

Shri Nathji would ever afterwards say:

"The natural beauty of these regions (Black Forest, Vosges and Jura mountains) shows the great interest the Creator took in creating them! It is as if He had carved them with His own hand!"

When the German higway A 81, enters Switzerland, it becomes Swiss A 4. Like Germany in Switzerland also all Major Higways are called Autobhans. The less important highways are called Autostrass and smaller roads are called Hauptstrasse.

In Zurich, Shri Nathji enjoyed the beautify scenery and stayed for one day.  Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. The municipality has approximately 390 000 inhabitants, and the Zurich metropolitan area 1.83 million.  Zurich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic.

Zurich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres. The city is home to a large number of financial institutions and banking giants. Also, most of the research and development centres are concentrated in Zurich and the low rate of tax attracts overseas companies to set up their headquarters there. It also has the  Swiss stock exchange which is called SIX Swiss Exchange,

According to several surveys from 2006 to 2008, Zurich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe. The high quality of life has been cited as a reason for economic growth in Zurich. The consulting firm Mercer has for many years ranked Zurich as a city with the highest quality of life in the world. In particular, Zurich received high scores for work, housing, leisure, education and safety. Local planning authorities ensure clear separation between urban and recreational areas and there are many protected nature reserves. Zurich is also ranked the sixth most expensive city in the world.

Many museums and art galleries can be found in the city, including the Swiss National Museum and the Kunsthaus. Zurich also hosts one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world.

From Zurich Shri Nathji treveled south to Lake Lucerne. The beautiful lake has a complicated shape, with bends and arms reaching from the city of Lucerne into the mountains. It has a total area of 114 km² (44 sq mi), an elevation of 434 m (1,424 ft), and a maximum depth of 214 m (702 ft). Its volume is 11.8 km³. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including those of Mount Rigi and Mount Pilatus.

The Reuss River enters the lake at Flüelen  and exits at Lucerne. It is possible to circumnavigate the lake by road, though the route is slow, twisted, and goes through tunnels part of the way. The lake is navigable, and has formed an important part of Switzerland's transport system for many centuries. Steamers and other passenger boats ply between the different towns on the lake. It is a popular tourist destination, both for native Swiss and foreigners, and there are many hotels and resorts along the shores. In addition, the meadow of the Rütli, traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation, is on the southeast shore of the lake. A 35 km commemorative walkway, the  Swiss Path, was built around the lake to celebrate the country's 700th anniversary. Bellow is the map which shows the route which Shri Nathji took from Zurich to lake Luzern.

Above is the aerial photograph of the lake.

Shri Nathji appreciated the advanced technology of Swiss Mountain railway. He was amused to see how these trains can climb up and down vertical mountain peaks. There is a photograph where we can see Shri Nathji’s car on the road and a train climbing the mountain on the left. So at Lurcerne, Shri Nathji travelled on the top of the Mountain of Alpnechstad ob its famous mono rail. It is called The Pilatusbahn and is the steepest rack railway in the world. It has operated successfully since its opening in 1889 over a route of 4.62 kilometers (2.87 miles) between Alpnachstad on Lake Lucerne and Pilatus Kulm, rising 6,791 feet (2,070 meters) above sea level. This results in a gradient of 48%, or a rise of nearly one meter in two meters of run on the steepest sections of the line, which amounts to about a quarter of its length.

To keep the propulsion cogwheels from literally climbing out of their mating racks on the steepest portions of the Pilatusbahn, Zürich engineer Eduard Locher (1840 - 1910) devised a unique system that turned the rack on its side. The rack actually was doubled, engaged by opposing twin horizontal cogwheels. The combination not only ensured positive meshing of the racks and wheels even under extremes of loading, but guided the cars along the rails in place of conventional flanged running wheels and literally locked the cars to the mountainside.

 All the car components, including engine, boiler, and passenger compartment, as well as water tank and coal bins, were mounted on one four-wheel chassis. The original 32-passenger steam cars averaged 2 to 3 miles per hour (3 to 4 kilometers per hour) and took over an hour to reach the summit. Today it is the 40-passenger electric cars that run at 6 mph (9 km/h) on the same track and make the trip in about half an hour.

From Lurence, Shri Nathji returned to Zurich and then took on the long drive to Hague in Netherlands. HH Pran Nathji said that while returning from Zurich, the car started vibrating at the speed of 40, So he couldn’t drive faster. It was found that the bolts on the propeller shaft had worked loose.

To go to Holland from Zurinch, Shri Nathji took the same route A 81 from which He came and continued to travel further on A 3, beyond the city of Cologne, to Dusseldorf and Duisburg, before entering Holland.  The A 3 goes up to the border of Holland. Amhem is the first city on entering Holland from this route. On entering Netherlands, the A 3 highway of Germany becomes A 12 of Holland. Bellow is the map which shows the route which Shri Nathji took from Zurich to Hague.

Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam.  The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which constitutionally is Amsterdam. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations, along with New York, Vienna and Geneva. It host many impotent buildings like the Peace Palace.

Shri Nathji toured the city. But he didn’t say the famous Tulips and windmills of Neithland. They were in the Northern part of the country. From Hague, Shri Nathji took a ferry back to the English port of  Dover and then the M 20 Highway to London.

The Map bellow shows the entire route Shri Nathji took in His second grand tour to Euripe from London. His rode route in marked by a Blue line. A Bright blue line appears on those sections of the roads which He took two times, i.e. while going and coming. The ferry route that He took between Dover and Ostend is marked by black dots. The ferry Route that Shri Nathji took on the return journey from Hague to Dover is marked by yellow dots.