CHAPTER 7

FIRST VISIT TO PARIS On June 1883, Rizal left Madrid to visit Paris. He stayed at theHotel de Parisbut then moved to a cheaper hotel. Like all tourists, Rizal was charminglytitillated by the attractive scenery of Paris such as the beautiful boulevards,the Opera House, the Place de la Concorde, the Arch of Triumph, the Bois deBoulogne, the Madelaine Church, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Column of Vendome, the Invalides, and the Versailes. Rizal closely observed the Frenchway of life and spending many hours at the museums.In Spain, he became close with prominent Spanish liberal and republicanSpaniards, who were mostlyMasons. Rizal was impressed by the way theSpanish Masons openly and freely criticized the government policies andlambasted the friars.In March 1883, he joined the Masonic lodge calledAcaciain Madrid. His reason for joining was to secure Freemasonry s aid inhis fight against the friars in the Philippines. Later he was transferred toLodgeSolidaridadwhere he became a MasterMason on November 15, 1890.Still later, he was awarded the diploma asMaster Mason by Le Grand Orientde France in Paris.After departure for Spain, things turned from bad to worse in Calamba.Harvests failed on account of drought and locusts. Also the Dominican-ownedhacienda increased the rentals of the lands cultivated by the Rizal family.Due to these crises, allowances of Rizal were many times late or sometimesnever arrived, causing too much suffering to him.And onNovember 20, 21 and 22, 1884, Rizal was involved in studentdemonstrations. They were fighting forDr. Miguel Moraytawho proclaimedthat the freedom of science and the teacher . Such liberal view wascondemned by the Catholic bishops of Spain.On June 21, 1884Rizal completed his medical course in Spain. He wasconferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central deMadrid. In the next academic year, he studied and passed al subjects leadingto the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Rizal also finished his studies inPhilosophy and Letters with excellent ratings. PARIS TO BERLIN After completing his studies in Spain, Rizal went to Paris and Germany for hisspecialization inophthalmology. He chose this course of medicine because hewanted to cure his mother s growing eye ailment. He still hasn t forgotten his secret mission to observe the customs and lifestyle of the Europeans sothat someday he will render service to his fatherland.In 1885, after completing his studies at Central University of Madrid, he wentto Paris in order to acquire more knowledge in ophthalmology. He was24then. He stopped overat Barcelona, on his way to Paris, to visit his friendMaximo Violawho is also a medical student and a member of a rich family in

Bulacan. And on the November of that year, Rizal was living in Paris where hesojourned for about four months. He worked as anapprentice of Dr. Louis deWeckert, who is a then, a leading French ophthalmologist. And with hismaster, his knowledge in ophthalmology improved.While not working at Dr. Weckert s clinic, Rizal visited his friends, such as thefamily of Pardo de Taveras, Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion, Hidalgo.Rizal spent many happy hours in the studioof Luna. Luna discussed with Rizalvarious problems on art and improved his own painting technique. Rizalposed to some painting of Luna. He was one of the Egyptian priestsin Luna spainting The Death of Cleopatra . AT HEIDELBERG Rizal left Paris on February 1, 1886, after acquiring enough experience in theclinic of Dr. Weckert. He was setto go to Germany. He visitedStrasbourgandother German towns.OnFebruary 3, 1886, he arrived in Heidelberg, a historic city in

Germanyfamous for its old university and romantic surroundings. He lived in aboarding house with some German law students. The German students foundout that Rizal was a good chess player and made him a member of theChessPlayer s Club. After a few days, he was transferred to a boarding house whichwas near University of Heidelberg. He worked at theUniversity Eye Hospitalunder the direction of Dr. Otto Beckerand attended the lectures of DoctorBecker andProf. Wilhelm Kuehneat the university.At weekends he visited the scenic spots around Heidelberg which includesthe Heidelberg Castle, the romantic Neckar Rivera, the theater, and the oldchurches. Rizal noticed that the German Catholics and the Protestantspracticed ecumenism wherein they live together in harmony and cordiality.On April 22, 1886,spring on Heidelberg, he wrote a poem tothe beautifulblooming flowers at the Neckar River. Amongthose was his favorite flower the forget-me-not.Rizal then spentthreemonth summer vacation at Wilhelmsfeld, amountainous village close to Heidelberg. He stayed at the vicarage of a kindProtestant pastor, Dr. Karl Ullmer. He was very delighted in his stay at theUllmers.On July 31, 1886, Rizal wrote hisfirst letter in German to Professor FerdinandBlumentritt. Rizal heard that Blumentritt was interested in the Philippinelanguages. Along with the letter was a bookentitled Aritmetica. Delightedwith Rizal, Blumentritt send gift books to Rizal. This marked the beginning of their long and frequent correspondence.

Rizal was fortunate to be sojourning in Heidelberg when the famousUniversity of Heidelberg held its fifth centenary celebrationon August 6 of 1886. It was three days before his departure and he was sad because he hadcome to love the land and the beautiful city. LEIPZIG AND DRESDEN OnAugust 9, 1886, three days after the fifth centenary of the University of the Heidelberg, Rizal left the city. He boarded a train and visited variouscities of Germany until arriving inLeipzig on August 14, 1886. He attendedsome lectures in the University of Leipzig and befriendedProfessor FriedrichRatzel, a famous German historian, andDr. Hans Meyer, Germananthropologist.Rizal translated William Tell from German to Filipino so that Filipinos mightknow the story of that champion of Swiss independence. He also translatedinto Filipino Hans Christian Andersen s Fairy Tales.Cost of living in Leipzig is the cheapest in Europe so he stayed there for twomonths and a half. During his stay, he corrected some chapters in his secondnovel and also had time for exercise. He also worked asa proof-reader in apublishing firmand earning some money. DRESDEN Rizal left Leipzig to set course on Dresdenon October 29, 1886. At Dresden,Rizal metDr. Adolph Meyer, the director of the Anthropological andEthnological Museum. He stayed only two days in the city. He heard the HolyMass in a Catholic church which greatly impressed him, for he wrote Truly Ihave never in my life heard a Mass whose music had greater sublimity andintonation .Morningof November 1, Rizal left Dresden by trainreaching Berlin in theevening. BERLIN Rizal liked Berlin because of its atmosphere which was very scientific and theabsence of race prejudice. Also, here he metDr. Feodor Jagorauthor of Travels in the Philippines, a book that Rizal admired because of its keenobservances in the Philippine setting. Dr. Jagor in turn, introduced Rizal toDr.Rudolf Virchow,a famous anthropologistand to his son,Dr. Hans Virchow,professor of Descriptive Anatomy. Rizal worked in theclinic of Dr. Karl ErnestSchweigger, a famous German ophthalmologist.Rizal was the first Asian to be accorded with honors for being a member of the Anthropological Society, the Ethnological Society, and the

GeographicalSociety of Berlin. Dr. Virchow recognized Rizal s genius, invited him to give alecture beforethe Ethnographic Society of Berlin. Rizal wrote a scholarly

paper entitled Taglische Verkunst(Tagalog Metrical Art) which elicitedfavorable comments from all scientific quarters.Rizal led a methodological life in Berlin. He worked as an assistant by day,and attended lectures at night. He kept himself physically fit by dailyexercises and speaking German, French and Italian. Rizal took private lessonsin the French language underMadame Lucie Cerdolein order to master theFrench language.He spends his leisure moments touring the country sides of Berlin andobserving the culture and life of the people. He also made sketches of thethings he saw. About observing culture, Rizal greatly admired the German Yuletide custom, wherein Germans would take bushes from a pine tree anddress it up with lanterns, papers and candies. Another interesting custom inGermany is that, when a man has nobody to introduce him to the otherguests, he bows his head to the guests and introduces himself to the otherguests and shakes hands of everyone in the room.Not all the experiences of Rizal in Germany were good, there is this onewinter time wherein he lived in poverty because no money arrived fromCalamba and he was flat broke. During that time, he only eats one meal aday and had to wash his clothes himself because he could not afford to paythe laundry. On Calamba, Paciano tried to raise money but crops have faileddue to locusts and the sugar market collapsed. NOLI ME TANGERE PUBLISHED IN BERLIN Noli Me Tangere during Rizal s stay in Berlin was unable to be published. Butwith the help of Maximo Viola, who gave him the necessary funds to publishthe novel, Noli Me Tangere was published. Viola loaned Rizal money forpublishing and for Rizal s living expenses. With that, Rizal and Viola happilycelebrated theChristmas of 1886in Berlin.During the printing of the Noli, the chief of police Berlin paid a sudden visit toRizal s boarding house. The chief asked for Rizal s passport, but Rizal couldn tshow any. The chief told him to secure a passport within four days, otherwisehe would be deported.Rizal failed in obtaining his passport and presented himself at the Germanpolice office, politely apologizing for his failure. The police then told him thatRizal was suspected as a French spy because he came fro Paris and knew thelanguage of the French people so well. Rizal explained in German to thepolice that he was not a French spy, but a Filipino physician and scientist.With that, he was allowed to stay freely in Germany.OnMarch 21, 1887, the Noli Me Tangerecame off the printing press. Rizalimmediately sent copies to his intimate friends, including Blumentritt, Dr.Antonio Jaena, Mariano Ponce, and Felix R. Hidalgo. As a token of hisappreciation and gratitude, Rizal gave Viola the galley proofs of Noli carefully rolled around the pen that he used in writing. It also has a dedication To mydear friend, Maximo Viola, the first to read and appreciate my work JoseRizal. Noli Me Tangere was solely dedicated to the Philippines. He described thePhilippines as a patient with cancer that even with the most careful touch; itawakens in it the sharpest pains. The friends of Rizal hailed the novel, appreciated its content and deeplytouched and awakened by its fine truth. Of all the congratulatory lettersreceived by Rizal about Noli, that from Blumentritt was significant. First of all wrote Blumentritt, accept my cordial congratulations for your beautifulnovel about customs which interests me extraordinarily. Your work, as weGermans say, has been written with the blood of the heart, and so the heartalso speaks. I continue reading it with much interest GRAND TOUR OF EUROPE After the publication of Noli, Rizal planned to visit the important places inEurope. Rizal received his money from Paciano worth1,000 pesos. Heimmediately paid viola the sum of 300 pesosfrom his kind loan.At dawn of May 11, 1887, Rizal and Viola left Berlin by train. Spring was in theair and Europe is blooming with flowers. Their destination wasDresden, Oneof the best cities in Germany .

DRESDEN Rizal and Viola spent some time in Dresden. Their visit coincided with theregional floral exposition. Rizal studied different plants because he wasinterested in botany. They visitedDr. Adolph B. Meyer, who was overjoyed tosee them. They also visited the Museum of Art and Rizal was deeplyimpressed by the painting of Prometheus Bound , a Greek mythologicaltragedy.While strolling at the scene of the Floral Exposition, they metDr. Jagor. Dr. Jagor advised them to wire Blumentritt of their coming because the oldprofessor was of a nervous disposition and he might suffer a shock at theirsudden visit. Their next stopover was Teschen.Rizal and Viola sent a wire to Blumentritt,as suggested by Dr. Jagor. BLUMENTRITT AND LEITMERITZ At 1:30 p.m. of May 13, 1887, the train with Rizal and Viola on board arrivedat the railroad stationof Leitmeritz, Bohemia.Professor Blumentritt waited forthem in the station after he received the wire. He was carrying a pencil

sketch of Rizal which the letter had previously sent him, so that he couldidentify his Filipino friend. He warmly welcomed Rizal and Viola.For the first time, Rizal and Blumentritt met each other. They greeted eachother in fluent German. Upon seeing the talented Rizal, the old professorimmediately took him into heart, loving him as a son.Rizal had beautiful memories of his visit to Leitmeritz. He enjoyed the warmhospitality and enjoyed the cooking of theprofessor s wife Rosa.Blumentritt s children wereDolores, Conrad, and Fritz.Blumentritt showedthe scenic sights and historical spots of Leitmeritz.One afternoon he invited them to a beer garden where the best beer of Bohemia was served. At the beer garden, they met theburgomaster or thetown mayor. Blumentritt introduced the two to the burgomaster. Rizal talkedin fluent German, for which the burgomaster and his friends were amazed.On another afternoon, Rizal and Viola were invited to a meeting o the Tourists Club of Leitmeritz, of Blumentritt was secretary. The members of thesociety were amazed by the fluency of Rizal in German.Rizal painted a portrait of the kind professor and gave it to him as acommemoration of his happy hours at the professor s home.Rizal also met another renowned scientist of Europe namely,Dr. CarlosCzepelak. Rizal had a nice conversation with the Polish scholar. Blumentrittalso introduced Rizal toProfessor Robert Klutschak, an eminent naturalist.On their last night in Leitmeritz, Rizal and Viola, reciprocated Blumentritt shospitality with a banquet.On May 16, at 9:45 A.M., Rizal and Viola leftLeitmeritz by train. Blumentritt and his family were at the railroad station tosee them off, and they all shed tears in parting as the train departed. Rizalcarried with him all the beautiful memories of his visit to Leitmeritz. HISTORY CITY OF PRAGUE After their stay atLeitmeritz, Rizal together with Viola visited the city of Prague. They carried recommendation letters fromBlumentritt to Dr.Willkomm, a professor of natural history in the University of Prague. The kind-hearted professor together with his wife and daughters welcomed them andshowed them the city s historic spots.Rizal and Viola visited thetomb of Copernicus, the museum of naturalhistory, the bacteriological laboratories, the famous cave whereSan JuanNepomucenowas imprisoned, and the bridge from which the saint was hurledinto the river.After their stay at the home of the Willkomms, Rizal and Viola leftPrague andwent to Brunne.

QUEEN OF THE DANUBE

On May 20, Rizal and Viola arrived in thebeautiful Vienna. Famous in songsand story, this city very much fascinated Rizal because of its beautifulbuildings, religions images and charm. Rizal and Viola presented a letter of recommendation, from Blumentritt, to Norfenfals, one of the greatestnovelists in Europe during that time. The great novelist was impressed byRizal s genius. Later he spoke highly of Rizal.Also in Vienna, Rizal received hislost diamond stickpin. It was found by amain inHotel Krebsand was given to Blumentritt who, in turn, forwarded it toRizal. The two stayed atHotel Metropole. They visited the city s interesting places,such as churches, museums, art galleries, theaters and parks. LINTZ On May 24, Rizal and Viola left Vienna on a river boat to see the beautifulsights of the Danube Rivera. As they both travel with boat, Rizal observed thedifferent sights like the barges loaded with products, the flowers and plantsgrowing along the river banks, the boats with families living on them, and thequaint villages on the riversides. They also noticed that the passengers wereusing paper napkins during meals. TO RHEINFALL, TO SALZBURG, TO MUNICH TO NUREMBERG The river voyage ended in Lintz. They traveled overland to Salzburg and fromthere to Munich where they sojourned for a short time to savor the famousMunich beer, reputed to be the best in Germany.From Munich they went to Nuremberg, an old city of Germany. Among thesights were the horrible torture machines used by the Inquisition, in whichRizal examined carefully. Viola and Rizal were greatly impressed by themanufacture of dolls in Nuremberg.After Munich, they visited Ulm. The cathedral of this city was the largest andthe tallest in all Germany. Viola related that he and Rizal climbed its manyhundred steps. Viola getting dizzy, but Rizal was not.From Ulm, they went to Stuttgart, Baden and then Rheinfall. At Rheinfall, theysaw the waterfall which was the most beautiful waterfall of Europe. SWITZERLAND From Rheinfall, they crossed the frontier toSchaffhausen,Switzerland. Theystayed in this city from June 2 to 3, 1887. They then continued their tour toBasel, Bern, and Lausanne.

After sightseeing in Lausanne, Rizal and Viola left on a little boat, crossing thefoggy Leman Lake to Geneva. GENEVA Rizal and Viola visited Geneva. This Swiss city is one of the most beautifulcities in Europe which was visited by world tourist every year. The people of Geneva were linguists, speaking French, German, and Italian. Rizal conversedwith them in these three languages.Rizal and Viola also went boating on the lake. Rizal showed his rowingprowess which he acquired during his boyhood days in Calamba.On June 19, 1887, it was Rizal s 26th birthdayand treated Viola to a blowout.Rizal and Viola spent fifteen days in Geneva. On June 23, they parted ways.Viola decided to return to Barcelona while Rizal continued his tour to Italy. MADRID EXPOSITION During his tour in Europe, Rizal received sad news from his friends in Madridof the deplorable conditions of primitive Igorots who were exhibited in thisexpositions, some of whom died and whose clothing are inappropriate for theclimate of Madrid, and crude weapons were objects of mockery and laughterby the Spanish people and press. Rizal being a champion of human dignitywas outrageous. ITALY

Rizal went to Italy. He visited Turin, Milan, Venice and Florence. On June 27,1887, he reached Rome. He was thrilled by the sights and memories of theEternal City Rome.On June 29th, Rizal visited for the first time theVatican, the City of thePopes and the capital Christendom. He was impressed by the magnificentedifices, particularly of St. Peter s Church which was also his feast day duringthat time.Every night, after sightseeing the whole day, Rizal returned to his hotel, verytired. I am tired as a dog, he wrote to Blumentritt, but I will sleep as agod .After a week of staying in Rome, he prepared to return to the Philippines. Hehad already written to his father that he was coming home. FIRST HOMECOMING From1882 to 1887, Rizal was in Europe studying. There he was allured,fascinated and have all the beautiful memories throughout his sojourn. Butthis will not make Rizal forget his fatherland and his nationality. After 5 years

of memorable adventure in Europe, he returned to the Philippines in August1887 and practiced medicine in Calamba.Although his life is threatened because his Noli Me Tangere caused uproarespecially among the friars, he insists on returning home. He has his reasonsof coming home, one is that he wants to operate his mother s eyes; anotheris that he wants to know how his novel affected the life of the Filipino.Rizal left Rome bytrain for Marseilles and on July 3, 1887he boarded thesteamerDjemnahwhich was the same steamer he boarded five years ago. The steamer was enroute to the Orient via the Suez Canal. Rizal saw thiscanal for the second time.On July 30, he transferred to anothersteamer in Saigon to steamer Haiphongwhich was bound to Manila. OnAugust 2, the steamer left Saigon for Manila. ARRIVAL AT MANILA On August 5, theHaiphong arrived in Manila and he went ashore with ahappy heart for he was once again in Filipino soil. He stayed in the city for ashort time to visit some friends and observed that Manila was the same fiveyears ago. HOME IN CALAMBA On August 8, he returned to Calamba. His family welcomed himaffectionately. The rejoicing returns over when his family became worried of his safety. Paciano did not leave him during the first days because he wantsto protect him from any enemy assault. Even his own father would not let himgo out alone.In Calamba he established a medical clinic and his first patient was hismother, who was that time almost blind. The news of a great doctor fromGermany spread far and wide. Patients from Manila and the provinces flockedto Calamba to have a consultation to Rizal. His fees were reasonable, within amonth he was able to earn about 900 pesos.He also opened a gymnasium for young folks where he introduced Europeansports. He tried to interest his townies in gymnastics, fencing, and shootingand discourage cockfights and gambling.Rizal failed to see Leonor Rivera, his loved one.A few weeks after his arrival, he received a letter fromGovernor GeneralEmilio Terrerorequesting him to come to Malacaan Palace. Rizal went toManila and appeared before Gov.Gen. Terrero and denied the acquisitions of the Governor General. He explained that it was merely an exposition of truth,but he did not advocate rebellious ideas. The governor was pleased by hisexplanation and asked for a copy of Noli so that he could read it. Rizal had no

copy that time but promised it to the governor general once he secured acopy of it.Rizal found a copy in the hands of a friend. He was able to give it to governorgeneral Terrero. The governor general knew that Rizal s life was in jeopardybecause the friars were powerful. He then assigned a young Spanishlieutenant as a bodyguard of Rizal. FAREWELL AGAIN

Rizal s novel caused uproar among the friars. Anonymous threats againstRizal s life were received by his parents. Feeling uneasy with the situation,they advised him to go away for his life was in danger.Governor General Terrero summoned Rizal and advised him to leave thePhilippines for his own good. He was giving Rizal a change to escape the furyof the friar s wrath.Rizal really needs to go because he could not disobey the governor general sorders. Rizal leftCalamba in 1888