A pleasant morning to everyone, we are the group 1, consisting of Ms. Bobiles, Ms.

Cabbab,
Ms. Cabrera, Ms. Casica, Mr. Winfield, Ms. Desamparo, and yours truly. As the first group,
we are to present Rizal’s travels. Before all else, we would like to play a little game. Mr.
Fanao will be our game master.

Well, that was eventful. Thank you for participating and we present to you the itinerary, which
covers chapter 7 through 10, for today.

Chapter 9: Rizal’s Grand Tour of Europe with Viola (1887)

To take some sort of break right after the publication of Noli Me Tangere, Rizal plans
to tour around Europe with his travel companion, Dr. Maximo Viola. To pay back his loan
from Viola, Rizal paid him 300 pesos from the 1,000 peso remittance he received from
Paciano. Their first stop was Potsdam, a city near Berlin, which Frederick the great made
famous.

The Tour Begins

● May 11, 1887 - Rizal and Viola head out of Berlin to Dresden
● Spring time
It was springtime in Europe and it left Rizal in awe as flowers bloomed, meadows
color a vivid green, and the villages roared in productivity. As they were traveling, Viola
noticed that:
● Rizal’s luggage included letters from his family and friends back in the Philippines.
Which proved just how family-oriented Rizal was.
Dresden
Their first destination was Dresden, a city in Germany.
● Regional Floral Exposition - Rizal was fascinated and interested in botany.
They visited Dr. Adolph B. Meyer who was happy to meet them and to talk to them.
● Dr. Adolph B Meyer - German Anthropologist
● Museum of Art - impressed by the painting, “Prometheus Bound”
As they were walking through the Floral Exposition, they met Dr. Jagor who upon
knowing their plans on visiting Blumenttrit, advised them to wire him in advance because the
old professor was not fond of surprise visits and due to age, would not want to suffer a shock
with the sudden visit.
● Dr. Jagor - advised them to wire Blumenttrit first rather than making a surprise visit.
First Meeting with Blumentritt
● May 13, 1887 - Rizal and Viola arrived at the railroad station of Leitmeritz, Bohemia
Lo and behold, Professor Blumentritt was there:
Professor Blumentritt
● Waited for Rizal and Viola’s arrival with a sketch of Rizal in hand. They
greeted each other in fluent German. The professor was kind-hearted and
took the pair under his wing, treating them like sons.
● Helped Rizal and Viola get a room in Hotel Krebs.
● Introduced Rizal and Viola to his wife and children.
● Rizal and Viola Stayed in Leitmeritz from May 13 to May 16, 1887.
Beautiful Memories of Leitmeritz
I Rizal enjoyed his stay at Leitmeritz and that was because of the Blumenttrit family’s
warm hospitality.
 ● Rosa, Professor Blumenttrit’s wife, prepared special Austrian dishes for the visitors.
● Blumenttrit’s children: Dolores (or Dorita or Dora) , Conrad, and Fritz.
Blumenttrit was a great tourist guide as he guided Rizal and Viola to scenic and
historical spots all over Leitmeritz. In the afternoon, the professor brought them to a
beer garden.
● Beer Garden - where the best beer of Bohemia was served.
● Burgomaster - also known as the town mayor, reveled with the other drinkers. They
were surprised by Rizal’s fluency in German as Blumenttrit introduced Rizal to them.
The burgomaster asked how long he learned German and Rizal said that he learned
it in 11 months and with that, the burgomaster was amazed and Blumenttrit
commented that even native Germans could not reach the fluency of Rizal’s level in
German.
Blumenttrit invited the pair to:
● Tourists’ Club of Leitmeritz - where Blumentritt was the secretary of the club. Rizal
was astonished by the scenery and the atmosphere of the people. In turn, the officers
and members were equally in awe with his fluency and his eloquence in German.
● Rizal painted a portrait of Blumenttrit to commemorate his memories of his stay.
● Dr. Carlos Czepelak - Polish scholar, who is also a world-renowned scientist, met
Rizal through their visit to the scholar’s home. Blumenttrit also introduced:
● Professor Robert Klutschak - naturalist
● Last night in Leitmeritz - Rizal, and Viola held a farewell party at the hotel.
● May 16, 1887 - Rizal and Viola left Leitmeritz. Blumenttrit’s family bid them farewell in
the station.
Letters of Rizal to Blumenttrit
● May 24, 1887 - written in Vienna, expressed Rizal and Viola’s concern for sick
Dolores.
● May 19, 1887 - “I shall make good friends of Leitmeritz the objects of my
thoughts…” and mentioned in the same letter that he forgot his diamond
stickpin in Hotel Krebs.
Prague

● As they arrived, they carried letters of recommendation from Blumenttrit to Dr.

Willkomm.
● Dr. Willkomm - professor of natural history at the University of Prague (modern day
Charles University). Dr. Willkomm and his family welcomed the pair and showed
them all around the city.
Sites Rizal and Viola visited:
● Tomb of Copernicus
● Museum of Natural History
● Bacteriological laboratories
● The famous cave where St. San Juan Nepomuceno was imprisoned and the
bridge where he was thrown off.
As they bid farewell to the Willkomm family and went to Brunn. Viola deemed this day
an uneventful day in the city.
Vienna
● May 20, 1887 - Rizal and Viola arrived in the city of Vienna.
Vienna
● Capital of Austria-Hungary
 ● Rizal was fascinated with the city due to its Beautiful buildings, religious
images, and haunting waltzes (a dance which originated in this city).
● “Queen of the Danube”
● Norfenfals - one of the greatest European novelists at the time; spoke of Rizal years
later, “whose genius he so much admired”.
● Rizal received his diamond stickpin; a maid found it and handed it to Blumentritt who
in turn, shipped it to Rizal.
● Hotel Metropole - where Rizal and Viola stayed.
● Masner and Nordmann - Austrian scholars who are friends of Blumentritt.