During the voyage to Singapore, Rizal carefully observed the people and the things on board the steamer. There were sixteen passengers, including himself five or six ladies, many children, and the rest gentlemen He was the only Filipino, the rest were Spaniards, British, and Indian Negroes.
Rizal described Donato Lecha, the ship captain from Asturias, Spain as an affable man, much more refined than his other countrymen and colleagues that I have met He was, however, peeved by some Spaniards (his fellow passengers) who spoke ill of the Philippines, to which they go for pecuniary reasons.
On May 8, 1882, while the steamer was approaching Singapore, Rizal saw a beautiful island. Fascinated by its scenic beauty, he remembered Talim Island with the Susong Dalaga
The following day, May 9, the Salvadora docked at Singapore. Rizal registered at Hote de la Paz and spent two days on a sightseeing soiree of the city, which was a colony of England.
He saw the famous Botanical Garden, the beautiful Buddhist temples, the busy shopping district, and the statue of Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles (founder of Singapore).
From Singapore, Rizal transferred to another ship Djemnah, a French steamer, which left Singapore for Europe on May 11. It was a larger and cleaner vessel that carried more passengers. Among these were British, French, Dutch, Spaniards, Malays, Siamese, and Filipinos (Mr and Mrs Salazar, Mr Vicente Pardo, and Jose Rizal)
On May 17, the Djemnah reached Point Galle (Punta de Gales), a seacoast town in southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Rizal was, however, unimpressed by this town; The general appearance of Point Galle is picturesque but lonely and quiet and at the same time sad.
Since it is a French vessel, most passengers spoke in French Albeit Rizal was taught the language back in his time in Ateneo, he came to learn that the manner it is spoken was different from the book referenced by the said school To his resort, he ended up conversing in Latin Spanish aided by gesticulations and sketching on paper He later improved his French language upon daily encounter with French spoken individuals
On May 18, the vessel resumed the voyage towards Colombo, the capital of Ceylon Rizal was enamored by its scenic beauty and elegant buildings He said on his dairy: Colombo is more beautiful, smart, and elegant than Singapore, Point Galle, and Manila
On May 27, Rizal anchored at Aden at about 8:30 a.m. During the same day, he observed the place: the structure, the people, their cultures, and such
Rizal found the city hotter than Manila
It took 5 days for the vessel to traverse the Suez Canal. Rizal was thrilled because it was his first trip through that canal built by Ferdinand de Lesseps.
On June 2, Rizal arrived at the city of Suez, Egypt. Just as he always does, Rizal proceeds to sightsee the place He was impressed by the beautiful moonlight which reminded him of Calamba and his Family
On June 7, Rizal reached Port Said (northeast Egypt) He was fascinated to hear the multi racial inhabitants speaking a babel of tongues Arabic, Egyptian, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, etc
From Port Said, the vessel continue to sail On June 11, Rizal reached Naples
The Italian city pleased him because of its business activity, its lively people, and its panoramic beauty He was fascinated by Mount Vesuvius, the Castle of St. Telmo (Castel Sant'Elmo), and other historic sights of the city.
The vessel only stopped for one hour. And within that time, Rizal wander around the city; It was his first European ground to set foot on
At 10:00 o'clock in the evening, June 12, the vessel anchored at the French harbor of Marseilles
He visited the famous Chateau d'lf, where Dantes, hero of The Count of Monte Cristo, was imprisoned
Rizal stayed two days and a half in Hotel
On the afternoon of June 15, Rizal left Marseilles by train to Spain He crossed the Pyrenees and stopped for a day at the frontier town of Port Bou. He noticed the indifference accorded by the Spanish immigration officers to tourists. in direct contrast with the courtesy of the French immigration officers
He reached his destination Barcelona on June 16, 1882.
In the latter of Rizal's visit, he changed his bad impression and came to like the city He found it to be really great with an atmosphere of freedom and liberalism, and its people were open hearted, hospitable, and courageous.
Upon Rizal's first gaze of the 'greatest city', he uttered it was unfavorable. He thought that it was ugly, with dirty little inns and inhospitable residents, because he happened to stay upon his arrival at a dingy inn situated on an unimpressive narrow street in the "town's most ugly side" and the staff and guests in this inn were indifferent to him
The Filipinos in Barcelona, some of whom were his schoolmates in the Ateneo, welcomed Rizal They gave him a party at their favorite cafe in Plaza de Cataluna (Plaça de Catalunya). After the customary exchange of toasts, they exchanged news and happenings in between were they currently reside.
While in Barcelona, Rizal wrote a nationalistic essay entitled "Amor Patrio" (Love of Country) It was his first article written on Spain's soil The same article was also published in Diariong Tagalog, a Manila bilingual (Spanish & Tagalog) newspaper by Basilio Teodoro Moran Amor Patrio urged his compatriots to love their fatherland, the Philippines.
Rizal spent his first summer on Europe soil in Paris, France. From June 17 to August 30, 1883, he wanders around the city
At first, he was billeted at the Hotel de Paris on 37 Rue de Maubange; later, he moved to a cheaper hotel on 124 Rue de Rennes in the Latin Quarter
Like all tourists, Rizal was as well fascinated by Paris' structural and landscape beauty: Champs Elysses boulevard, the Opera House, the Place de la Concorde, the Arch of triumph, the Bois de Boulogne, the Madelaine Church, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Column of Vendome, the Invalides, and the fabulous Versailles.
OPERA HOUSE DE LA CONCORDE
CHAMPS ELYSSES BOULEVARD
ARCH OF TRIUMPH
BOIS
INVALIDES
Unlike ordinary tourists that came to a certain place for their scenic beauty, Rizal, on contrary, prefers on spending hours at the museums, notably the world famous Louvre; the botanical gardens, especially Luxembourg; the libraries and art galleries; and the hospitals, including the Laennec Hospital, where he observed Dr. Nicaise treating patients and the Lariboisiere Hospital, where he observed the examination of different diseases of women.
On a lighter note, Rizal was said to be mistaken by Parisians as Japanese.
Due to the expensive prices of commodities in Paris, Rizal described it in his letters to his family as the costliest capital in Europe
VERSAILLES
CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME
COLUMN OF VENDOME
After Rizal completed his Study in Madrid, he went to Paris and Germany to specialize in ophthalmology
Rizal chose the said field to cure his mother's eye ailment.
During this time, Rizal was already a 24 year old physician (Gay Paris 1885 86)
From November to February of year 1886, Rizal worked as an assistant to Dr. Louis de Weckert, a leading french ophthalmologist
Letter sent to Rizal's parents (January 1, 1886):
With respect to the study of the ailments of the eyes, I am doing well I know now how to perform all the operations; I only need to know what is going on inside the eye, which requires muchOpractice utside of Rizal's working hours to Dr. Weckert's clinic, he relaxed by his friends: Juan Luna, Felix Resurrection Hidalgo, and Paz Pardo de Tavera (Luna's wife)
In a few of Luna's paintings, Rizal also posed as a subject:
The Death of Cleopatra (Rizal as the Egyptian priest)
The Blood Compact (Rizal as Sikatuna)
Rizal was enchanted by Berlin because of its scenic atmosphere and the absence of race prejudice.
Rizal as well worked in the clinic of Dr Karl Ernest Schweigger, another famous German ophthalmologist.
Rizal later became a member of the Anthropological Society, the Ethnological Society, and the Geographical Society of Berlin the first Asian to, too
In the morning of November 1, 1886, Rizal left Dresden by train, reaching Berlin in the evening
During Rizal's stay in Berlin, he met with some of great scientists including as follows: Dr. Feodor Jagor, a celebrated german scientist traveler and author of Travels in the Philippines
In return, Dr Jagor introduced Rizal to Dr Rudolf Virchow, a famous german anthropologist, and the latter's son, Dr Hans Virchow, professor of Descriptive Anatomy.
Tagalische Verkunst (Tagalog Metrical Art), a german scholarly paper that Rizal wrote in response to an invitation made by Dr. Virchow.
During Rizal's leisure moments, he tour the countryside of Berlin; he also made sketches of the things he saw (Unter den Linden, the most popular boulevard in Berlin)
While Rizal was in Berlin, he also developed this high regard for women, as revealed in his letter sent to Trinidad dated March 11, 1886. He regretted that in the Philippines, the women are more interested in how they dress than in how much they know. He praised, however, the delicacy of feeling, the fine manners, devotion, and hospitality of Filipino women, especially those in provinces
Rizal added in his letter pertaining to Trinidad: Now that you are still young you should strive to read, read, and learn You must not allow yourself to be conquered by indolence because it costs so little to cast it off.
In order to improve his French, Rizal took a private lesson under Madame Lucie Cerdole. Aside from this, he also performed daily exercises in the Berlin gymnasium to develop his body.
Rizal as well lived a frugal life in Berlin; An assistant in the morning, and a student on the evening (University of Berlin)
Rizal lived in the famous capital of unified Germany for five reasons:
To gain further knowledge of ophthalmology; To further his studies of sciences and languages; To observe the economic and political conditions of the German nation; To associate with famous german scientists and scholars; and To publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere.
Aside from Rizal's high regard of German women, he was also fascinated by Germans' customs and traditions such as during Christmas eve wherein people decorate a pine tree while children are observing (family observance) In our time, basically, this is what we call the Christmas Tree with lights wrapped around it, designs, fruits, etc
During the same year, happened Rizal's darkest winter.
Rizal lives in poverty because no money was sent to him from his family in Calamba: The diamond ring his sister Saturnina gave him was in a pawnshop; he could not pay his landlord; he had to scrimp; eating only one meal a day; and his clothes were old and threadbare (he washed them himself because he could not afford to pay the laundry).
In spite of such an unfortunate experience, Rizal in the following year (1887), published his novel, Noli Me Tangere, in the financial support of Maximo Viola.
Noli Me Tangere was further said to be a Filipino perspective take on the lens of the referenced book Stowe's Uncle Toni's Cubin by Harriet Beecher.
Noli Me Tangere was further said to be a Filipino perspective take on the lens of the referenced book Stowe's Uncle Toni's Cubin by Harriet Beecher
Of the numerous congratulatory letters received by Rizal from the publication of his novel Noli Me Tangere, Blumentritt's was what he considered significant: I already knew that you were a man of extraordinary talent and this could also be seen from the marvelous short time in which you have acquired my difficult and rough mother tongue ; but in spite of this, your work has exceeded my hopes and I consider myself happy to have been honored with your friendship
During the printing period of the book, Rizal was again, put into a challenging prospect; He was suspected by the chief police of Berlin as he was seen to be a french spy
Coming from Paris where he stayed for years and having to present no passport, has elevated German's suspicion of him
Fortunately, Rizal explained in his German fluent language that he is an ethnologist. The reason to wander across the rural areas of Germany was because to acquire and learn their traditions, cultures, and customs He also explicitly said that he was not a french spy but a Filipino physician, and scientist
He was later freed by the German police
From Leitmeritz, Rizal and Viola went to the historic city of Prague where they visited numerous notable destinations This is after Blumentritt gave them a recommendation letter to be served to Dr Willkomm, a professor of natural history in the University of Prague.
Some of the place they visited were the tomb of Copernicus, the museum of natural history (Narodni Muzeum Praha), the bacteriological laboratories, the famous cave where San Juan Nepomuceno was imprisoned, and the bridge from which the saint was buried into the river (Statue of John of Nepomuk in Charles Bridge
After saying goodbye to Dr. Willkomm, Rizal and Viola went to Brunn. According to Viola: nothing of importance happened in this city
In possession of the same recommendation letter from Blumentritt, the two met Norfenfals, one of the greatest novelists in Europe during that time This great Austrian novelist was favorably impressed by Rizal and spoke highly of him: whose genius he so much admired.
On May 20, 1887, Rizal and Viola arrived in the beautiful city of Vienna Queen of the Danube the capital of Austria Hungary
In the same city, Rizal received his lost diamond stickpin found by a maid in Hotel Krebs that was then given to Blumentritt, who, in turn, dispatched to Rizal in Vienna.
Rizal and Viola stayed at Hotel Metropole while visiting interesting places such as churches, museums, art galleries, theaters, and public parks.
During the same time, they met two good friends of Blumentritt: Masner and Nordmann, both are Austrian scholars
From the Danubian voyage, Rizal and Viola reached Lintz, the capital of Upper Austria
From there, they traveled overland to Salzburg (formerly an independent municipality in Bavaria), and then to Munich (the second largest city in Bavaria). From Munich, they went to Nuremberg, one of the oldest cities in Germany where they witnessed a few of its horrible torture machines used by the Inquisition
Rizal observed them keenly, and they were impressed by its manufactured dolls which was the biggest industry in the city
As was specified in the book by Zaide and Zaide, Rizal only sojourned in Bavaria for a short period of time where he taste the famous Munich beer he reputed best in Germany.
During those time, there were a few famous beer breweries in Munich along the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl beer hall namely, Augustiner Bräu built in the 14th Century, Münchner Hell (Munich lager) built in the late 19th Century, Hacker Pschorr, Hofbräu, Paulaner, Spaten, and Löwenbräu brewery built in the 15th Century. There is a possibility that Rizal had a taste on one of these
After sightseeing in Lausanne (a Swiss place), Rizal and Viola left on a little boat, crossing the foggy Leman Lake to Geneva, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe visited by world tourists annually.
On June 19, 1887, Rizal treated Viola for a blow out as it was his 26th birthday; they celebrated it with a sumptuous meal
In an aquatic excursion, they both went boating on a lake Rizal showed his rowing prowess which he learned during his boyhood days in Calamba.
After 15 days together, Rizal and Viola parted ways; Viola returned to Barcelona, and Rizal continued his tour to Italy
However having to derive a conclusion from Rizal's objective on visiting European countries to learn and know their cultures and customs we can assume that he might had visit some of the notable locales in Milan back in the 19th century like museums, galleries, etc including:
After Viola and Rizal part ways in Geneva, the latter goes to Italy.
One of the specified recorded travel of Rizal in Italy was when he visited Rome on June 27, 1887 also called the Eternal City and City of the Caesars
Albeit aside from the information given above there were no other specific details on what Rizal did in other Italian cities (Turin, Milan, Venice, and Florence), it was debunked from an online source that the aforementioned cities were truly reached by Rizal as per his letter to his father, Don Francisco, on June 28, 1887:
I was in Turin, Milan, Venice, Florence, and for some days I have been here.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II built on 1877;
Teatro Alla Scala built on 1778
Duomo di Milano built on the 14th Century
Cimitero Monumentale built on the 19th Century
Alberts, B. (2011, July 17). Castel Sant’Elmo Naples Italy Napoli Unplugged. Napoli Unplugged https://www napoliunplugged com/castel sant elmo html
Bois de Boulogne The Largest Park in Paris (2022) Introducingparis com https://www.introducingparis.com/bois boulogne
Catapusan. (2021). TRAVEL of Jose Rizal PDFCOFFEE.COM. Pdfcoffee com; PDFCOFFEE COM https://pdfcoffee com/travel of jose rizal pdf free.html
Château d’If Marseille Count of Monte Cristo MarseilleTourisme.fr. (2018). MarseilleTourisme fr https://www marseilletourisme fr/en/places see/heritage culture/monuments/chateau if/
Convention, P (2022) Avenue des Champs Élysées Paris tourist office En.parisinfo.com. https://en.parisinfo.com/transport/73130/Avenue des Champs Elysees
Jose Rizal [Travels] (2022) Joserizal ph http://www joserizal ph/tr24 html
Madeleine | church, Paris, France | Britannica (2022) In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Madeleine church Paris France
Nast, C. (2022). Condé Nast Traveler. https://www cntraveler com/activities/paris/arc de triomphe
Oktoberfest de Redaktion (2019, April 26) Augustiner, Hacker Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten. The Six Munich Breweries at Oktoberfest • Oktoberfest de the Official Website for the Oktoberfest in Munich; Oktoberfest.de Die offizielle Website zur Wiesn. https://www oktoberfest de/en/magazine/eat and drink/the six munich breweries at oktoberfest
Opéra | opera house, Paris, France | Britannica. (2022). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Opera house Paris France
Plaça de Catalunya square. (2022). Spain.info. https://www spain info/en/places of interest/placa catalunya/ Place de la Concorde | Geography, History, & Facts | Britannica (2022) In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Place de la Concorde
Rizal and His Work (2017) Slideshare net https://www.slideshare.net/shamaycrystalnaranjo1/rizal and his work
Roy De Mol. (2013). Knights Of Rizal Diamond Chapter. Knightsofrizal.be. http://www knightsofrizal be/rizal travels php
Vesuvius National Park (n d ) Www vesuviusnationalpark it Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://www.vesuviusnationalpark.it/
Zaide, G. F., & Zaide, S. M. (2014). Jose Rizal: Life, works, and writings of a genius, writer, scientist, and national hero Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Anvil Publishing
