9-17

• Rizal's tour of Europe with Viola

  After the Noli was printed in Berlin, Rizal planned to visit the important places in Europe. Rizal received Paciano's remittance of P1,000. He paid Dr. Maximo Viola P300 for Rizal loans so that the Noli could be printed. Having paid his debt, and with enough funds in his pocket, Rizal, accompanied by Viola, was ready to see Europe before returning home to Calamba.
• Places they visited

  • Potsdam
  • Dresden
  • Teschen (now Decin, Czechoslovakia)
  • Leitmeritz (Litomerice), Bohemia
  • Prague
  • Vienna (capital of Austria-Hungary)
  • Munich
  • Nuremberg
  • Ulm
  • Stuttgart
  • Baden
  • Rheinfall
  • Scaffhausen, Switzerland
  • Bassel
  • Bern
  • Lausanne
  • Lemon Lake
  • Geneva
  • Turin
  • Milan
  • Venice
  • Florence
  • Rome
• Rizal met Blumentritt for the first time


  Blumentritt is an old Austrian professor. Rosa, his wife, Dolores, Conrad and Fritz, Blumentritt's children.
• Places they visited in Prague

  • The tomb of Copernicus (the famous astronomer)
  • The museum of natural history
  • The bacteriological laboratories
  • The famous cave where San Juan Nepomuceno (the Catholic saint) was imprisoned
  • The bridge where the saint was hurled into the river
• According to Viola, nothing happened in Prague
• Vienna

  Known as the "Queen of Danube", famous in songs and stories
• Munich


  They stopped here for the famous Munich beer, best in Germany
• Ulm

  The cathedral of this city was the largest and tallest in Germany
• Rizal saw the Rheinfall, the most beautiful waterfall in Europe
• Geneva


  The Swiss city, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe
• Languages spoken by the people of Geneva

  • French
  • German
  • Italian
• Viola returned to Barcelona on June 23
• Rizal continued the tour to Italy: Turin, Milan, Venice, Florence
• Rome


  The eternal city and also called the City of Caesars
• Vatican


  The City of the Popes, the capital of Christendom
• Rizal: 'I am tired as a dog, but I will sleep as a god.'
• After a week of wonderful tour in Rome, Rizal prepared to return to the Philippines
• Rizal's decision to return home

  After the publication of the Noli Me Tangere and the uproar it caused among the anti-Filipino elements, Rizal was warned by Paciano (his brother), Silvestre Ubaldo (his brother-in-law), Chenggoy (Jose M. Cecilio), and other friends not to return home. But he did not heed their warning. He was determined to return to the Philippines for the following reasons: 1) To operate on his mother's eyes; 2) To serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish Tyrants; 3) To find out for himself how the Noli and his other writings were affecting Filipinos and Spaniards in the Philippines; and 4) To find out why Leonor Rivera had remained silent.
• Rizal: 'Your advice that I live in Madrid and continue to write for me here is very benevolent, but I cannot accept it. I cannot endure life in Madrid where everything is a voice in the wilderness. My parents want to see me, and I want to see them also. All my life I have desired to live in my country by the side of my family. Until now I am not Europanized like the Filipinos of Madrid; I always like to return to the country of my birth.'
• Rizal left Rome by train for Marseilles, a French port, which he reached without mishap.
• On July 3, 1887, Rizal boarded the steamer Djemnah, the same steamer which brought him to Europe five years ago.
• Rizal's voyage from Saigon to Manila was pleasant.
• On August 3, 1887 the moon was full, and Rizal slept soundly the whole night. The calm sea illumined by the silvery moonlight was a magnificent sight to him.
• On August 6, Rizal arrived in Manila.
• Rizal disembarked shortly after nine o'clock that night. He stayed in the city for a short time to visit his friends.
• Rizal found Manila the same as when he left it five years ago. There were the same old churches and buildings, the same holes in the roads, the same boats on the Pasig River, and the same hoary walls surrounding the city.
• On August 8th, two days after his arrival in Manila, Rizal reached Calamba. His family welcomed him affectionately, with plentiful tears of joy.
• Paciano did not leave Rizal during the first days after arrival to protect him from enemy assault. His own father would not let him go out alone, lest something might happen to him.
• In Calamba, Rizal established a medical clinic. His first eksploitasi physician was the successful operation on his mother's sightless eyes. News of the successful operation spread far and wide. Patients from Manila and the provinces flocked to Calamba.
• Rizal

  He came to be called "Doctor Uliman" because he came from Germany. His professional fees were reasonable, even gratis to the poor. Within a few months, he was able to earn P900 as a physician.
• Activities Rizal introduced in Calamba

  • Gymnastics
  • Fencing
  • Shooting
• Rizal tried to discourage cockfights and gambling.
• A few weeks after his arrival, a storm broke over his novel Noli Me Tangere.
• One day Rizal received a letter from Governor General Emilio Terrero to come to Malacañang.
• Somebody had whispered to the governor's ear that the novel contained subversive ideas. Rizal denied it, explaining that he merely exposed the truth, but he did not advocate subversive ideas.
• Governor-general asked the author for a copy of Noli so that he could read it. Rizal had no copy because the only copy he brought home was given to a friend.
• Rizal visited Fr. Francisco Sanchez, Fr. Jose Bech, and Fr. Federico Faura. He had a spirited discussion with them about the Noli, and Father Faura ventured an opinion that "everything in it was the truth," but added: "You may lose your head for it."
• For security, Rizal assigned a young Spanish lieutenant, Don Jose Taviel de Andrade, as his bodyguard. Taviel de Andrade belonged to a noble family. He was cultured and knew painting, and he could speak English, French, and Spanish.
• Governor-general Terrero read the Noli and found nothing wrong in it.
• The Archbishop of Manila, Msgr. Pedro Payo (a Dominican), sent a copy of the Noli to Father Rector Gregorio Echavarria the University Of Santo Tomas for examination by a committee of the faculty.