Chhajjuka Chaubara of Bharat Desai

In Hindi Chaubara is a place where people of village discuss the various subjects and chhajjus represents those people. However here all learned people are dicussing the important topics of the world in form of creative writing. I have given herein group photo of few members of 'Chhajjuka Chaubara.'

Tuesday, February 20, 2007


OUR TRIP TO ENCHANTING EUROPE
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By Mrs Pramila Desai
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We were so very excited to meet at the San Francisco Airport on the morning of 28th May. Ours was a group of people from different background. We arrived at the Heathrow Airport London. After the necessary customs and Immigration checks we arrived at The Novotel Hotel, In the afternoon we were ready to go out to see the famous city of London. We were dropped in front of the Buckingham Palace. We saw the statue of The Queen Victoria and other statues. Then we drove past the Westminster Abbey, The Kensington Palace, The Windsor Castle, The Big-Ben,10 Downing Street, The Trafalgar Square, Piccadily Square, St.Pauls
Cathedral, The Tower of London, The tower Bridge. In the evening we visited the Swaminarayan Mandir.and had prasad. We stayed at the hotel for the night.

The next morning we were ready to join the trip to go on the coach from London to The Doverport. From there we went to board the ferry for short channel crossing to Calais.Our bus alighted the ferry which carries all the buses and cars to Calais. .We had to pass through tunnels to Belgium and Antwerp. The meaning of Antwerp which is Fleming is that werp means weapon and giant who lived there was killed by a little boy meaning ant. He cut his hands and feet and threw it in Antwerp. On the way we saw the countryside of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Rotterdam is the biggest Port city in the world. It is full of canals. It’s a low- lying area close to the North Sea. The people built dykes which does not allow the sea-water to go inland. It is famous for different kinds of cheeses and clog factory. The land is agricultural and very fertile because it is reclaimed from the sea. Many kinds of flowers are grown specially many coloured tulips are grown It is called the garden city of Europe because flowers are transported everywhere in Europe. Clogs are wooden shoes made from the Poplar wood and are used in agricultural fields. Fancy articles like mugs and plates coloured with painted flowers are made. The people are very tall about 6-7feet and the women are 5 and ½ feet tall. Amsterdam is so called because it is built on the river Amster. Maduradam and Amsterdam are the two capitals of the Netherlands. Most of the people live in house –boats on the river. Most of the land becomes dry , there are windows constructed to draw water from the ground to keep the land fertile. The windows are big and narrow buildings with very high glass windows with pipes to draw water. In the Netherlands prostitution is supposed to be legal. The prostitutes are treated medically to follow the profession. The mode of transportation is bi-cycle. Anybody can use the left over cycle in any place any time. Amsterdam is supposed to be one of the best harbour in the world. The Notredam is the second best. The cruises do trading of industrial goods.. They are also used for receptions and other uses. The sea is held back by locks. The rich Jewish people usually are staying by the side of the river. They built big houses to live and did trade and business. In the 17th century many patrician houses were built.near the canal. .They were occupied by the industrial companies and official residences The canals were used for defence purposes Big concrete poles were used to hold the buildings. In the olden days they were made of wood. These concrete poles held the buildings. Because there the ground is marshy . There are many bridges built on the river Amster There are. Canals built to name a few The seven Arches Bridge., Pringergracht or The Prince Canal.,Merragracht-Gentleman Canal, Kaisergracht Empress Canal.There is a big Ring Road called The Gordel People used to pay taxes to the chief. There are many castles on the side of the river. Beer is the common drink. Many breweries grew along the side of the river. We saw the Maduradam model village which is miniature Holland It is called Kenkenhof Gardens. It is full of miniature important buildings.with electric lights. Cars and trains were running with electricity. Small people were also walking on the roads. That was a very good eye view of the city of Holland.

After passing the International Court at The Hague we reached Germany through The Rhine valley. On the side of the river Rhine there are three types of vineyards –sweet ,dry and sour vines. This river flows from Netherlands to Switzerland.It flows into the North Sea. River Rhine is the third longest river in the Europe. In Holland the ground was lower than the sea . As we traveled the ground became higher than the sea. In Germany we saw the marvelous and Europe’s oldest and largest Gothic Cathedral of Cologne.with twin spires. It has many huge pillars carved with statues.

Saw the Cuckoo clock factory. This factory is situated in palatial wooden house where Maria Antoinette used to stay., Crystal and decorated carved wooden are sold.. There is a big painted picture of the princess. We had to cross the border Zolo Schlosthiro from Germany to Switzerland . We had to check the pass-ports because Switzerland does not belong to the European union It got its independence later. We went through the black forest region to Schaffhansan to see the Rhein Falls. Which is the third largest falls in Europe .It is 16000 years old and it falls from 25 meter high Passed through Manheim to the Frank furt area. On the way to Frankfurt we went through the longest tunnel. Four languages French ,Italian , German, and Romansh. are spoken in that place. Wine is popular We stayed at the Hotel Sommeran Ticino Dietikon in Zurich. On the way we saw Interlaken where Bollywood pictures are shot =Dilwale Dulinia Lejayenge.=was shot and even Telugu and Tamil pictures are shot. On the way back we saw the capital of Switzerland Berne. We saw the Myster Park which was made by a man who earned a lot of money by selling books which he wrote about different gods and their stories. He wrote about the Pyramids why they were built He wrote about the mystery of the world. He built a temple with the Indian Flag. There he built many different a big building with different shapes.It was interesting because there we saw the Indian Flag. Saw another lake named Brienze , the name was given because of the city. The lake is formed by the water flowing from the glaciers from the mountains

After a short drive from there we went to Lauterbrannen where we boarded the train for the scenic journey to the JUNGFRAUJOCH---Top of Europe, the highest railway station in Europe .We waited for the train and saw a park from where we had a view of the Alps covered with snow. Saw the ICE PALACE with the sculptures of animals and the panoramic view of the Alps from The Sphinx Terrace. Driving through the Swiss Alpine region and winding mountain roads we reached the valley of Engleberg We started our ascent to board the world’s first revolving cable car reaching the peak of 10,000 ft. We passed through the longest tunnel of the mountain Alberta which is the highest peak and saw the central Switzerland. There we could see the Glacier Grotto and enjoyed the panoramic view from the sun terrace. Passing through the glacier thawing the ice which created majestic water falls we visited the town of Lucerne. .We passed through the forest area where there were no wild animals like India.The river Sihl flows through the forest. Again we had to pass through a big tunnel. We saw the Lake Zug. Lake Lucern is formed by the River Rues. I am mentioning the rivers and the lakes because the sceneriary around them is very beautiful to be enjoyed. There is a Chapel Bridge which connects the old town of Lucern with the new.There is a small principality of Liechtenstein[pronounced as sheen}. It is surrounded by mountains and greenery all round this small town. The mountain is called the Mount Phalatas and the Lake is named as the Fearwoldstalesnord. It is ruled by a Prince who lives in a beautiful castle on the top of the mountain. It is a Mona Carlos Monarchy, protected by the Swiss Government. It is a small town of 7 million consisting of Germans and the Flemish. We visited the capital city of Vaduz and enjoyed the countryside scenery of theTyrolean Capital. . We reached Innbruck. meaning bridge on the river Inn. through a big tunnel,which is 14km. long, named Alberga tunnel There are names given to the tunnels,for example., Flirsher Tunnel, Ropper Tunnel Etc. In Innsbruck we saw green domes and red roofs of the houses.specially in the area. We visited the Swarovski crystal world’s shop displaying unique selection of products made from different coloured glass . A big giant guards the crystal works of the Swarovski through whose mouth water falls ,which is a good sight for the travelers. The entrance is called the Enignon or the Krystallwatten Swarovski .This crystal is kept in wooden palace where Marie Antoinette stayed in the summer. She was the youngest daughter of nine children of The Emperor Max Mueller. She went to France and married Louis XVI , the King of France. He started the sewage system in those days. In the Innsbruck we saw the golden roof in the main square of the area. Then we reached the area of Austria., where the Hapsburgs ruled. One of the Hapsburgs was Hitler. He followed the Nationalist Socialist Policy. The people followed him though his mother was a Jewish and he prosecuted Jews . We passed the Tyrolean Mountains. They were very scenic and very famous for skiing. In German Tyrol means a mountain.. We passed the spectacular scenery of the Europabrucke which is one of the highest bridges of Europe. Winding our way through the Branner Pass we crossed to the Italian border to Venice, the city of unparalleled beauty and romantic Gondolas. We started the boat –ride to Venice, the Queen of the seas . It is made of Islands which are connected by canals and nearly 400 bridges. We went to the St. Mark’s Square passing through the Bridge of Sighs , The Doges Palace to the Basilica Di San Mario and saw The St. Mark’s Cathedral The Bell Towers. Basilica Sponte De La Liberty. Which was built by Mussolini. In the Square was the statue of Victor Emmanuel II. Who was the king of Italy. There were many marble statues in the square. There was the statue of David and Dante.

We had to pass through many tunnels while going to Florence. It is called Firenze.in Italian Florentia means to flourish. Florence was the cradle of Civilization. It was The Medieval Period of the 12 th Century and was known as The Rennaisance The way of thinking was changed. . Everybody started taking medicines and surgery was made popular in those days. Painting was made popular. The famous painter Leonardo De Vince flourished in those days. Many of the colored paintings of that age are in good condition and marvelous still to watch and enjoy.. for example Mona Lisa and Michael Angelo’s paintings. The original tribes of Florence were the Etruscans. They improved their territory by looting and plundering. They started building new industries. The famous sports car Ferrari was built at time Markets and trade flourished . Beautiful temples of that are in good condition Victor Emmanuels Palace was built about 450 years ago. We stayed at the Minerva Restorante in Arezzo in Florence.

Next we went to Rome .They say Rome was not built in a day All roads lead to Rome.. We saw the Rome of the people, The Colloseum , where the gladiators used to fight with each other and wild animals. In 1760 Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus. They were sons of a virgin, Sylvia. Her brother took the sons and left on the River Tiber. The children were raised by sucking the milk of a she-wolf. Rome was ruled by the Caesars. The Roman Empire started to grow. The concept of the Ring Road was started. Canals and Aquaducts were constructed. They started building houses with cement and concrete and bricks.The Roman Empire was divided Constantine founded Constantinopole and Istanbul The Roman Empire was taken over by St. Peter. He founded the Roman Catholic Church and worshipped one god. Roman Temples were built and Churches were founded.. Latin was the main Language. On the outer region The Bolognia University was built University of Padua and Emalia Romania were started. The River Adige flows through the city of Bolognia and Tuscany. The Pope is the spiritual. Leader.of the churches. He lived in the Vatican City. Sistine Chapel is the main chapel in The Vatican City. The Holy Door is opened by the Pope when he comes out to meet the people.The Notredam Temple was built in 1163 AD and dedicated to The Our Lady...Marseilles is measured from the zero point front of the cathedral. We went to see the Trevy Fountain.which is in the center of the road. If you have a wish and throw a coin in it the wish is fulfilled. Then we went to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa which is one of the wonders of the world.. The ground in the Square of Miracles is very soft because of the mud. There is a church of Baptism and other churches. It is said that the mud was brought from Jerusalem. In the beginning the first two stories were built, but they started to lean on one side. So after some days a metal wall was built around the lower floors. After a few days the upper floors were built. Then we passed the Piedmont region of Italy where we admired the grand scenery and old houses perched high on the hills. Passing through beautiful country side and tunnels we reached the beautiful lake with its famous Jet deau Fountain jutting very high into the sky. It was a marvelous sight.. There was the Garden known as The English Garden., where there was The Floral Clock. It was very attractive with different seasonal flowers with different colours. Next we visited The United Nations Buildings and saw many International Buildings for example The WHO The Trade Union The Human Rights Organisation . Saw the Red Cross Organisation. which was known as The Red Crescent Organisation. which was established in 1863. We had to cross a tunnel under the Mount Blanc.which is 83 km. long We saw the statue of King Nero who was playing the violin when Rome was burning. Then we saw the Eiffel Tower which is famous as the wonder of the world. It is an industrial masterpiece. We climbed the Tower in an elevator which can accommodate 50 people at a time While in the elevater we had panoramic view of the city. Later we enjoyed the cruise which traverses past many arches and bridges on the River Seine. We saw the Arc De Triumph in the city Notre Dame and LOUVRE Museum.which is the longest and biggest Museum in the world. It has a number of big paintings of world famous artists. We saw the Opera House Champs Elysees and Concord Square where roads from all sides of the city meet. Next we saw The French Perfumery for some shopping. Finally we went to see Paris by Night. Paris is lighted the whole night and the most spectancular sight was the lighted Eiffel Tower. What a magnificent sight it was! We started the return journey to Calais. We boarded the local carrier to the Dover Port from Calais in a ferry. This ferry carries buses and cars on the English Channel. We returned to London. We checked in the hotel for the night and the next morning we went to the Heathrow Airport to return to San Francisco.
(Writer has very well described her European trip with all the details.)
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