Dr.

Jose Rizal's Travels

1. 1. Jose Protacio Realonda Alonso Rizal Mercado Jose Rizal is the most traveled Filipino
hero in history. The travel and adventure of Jose Rizal are an important facet of his education
and sophistication through which he learned the culture and politics of other countries.
Rizals first trip abroad was on 1882 bound for Dr. Jose Rizal was died on December 30,
1896. In Bagumbayan (Luneta), a city promenade that also served as a killing field for those
who opposed Spanish colonial rule in the 19th century Philippines.
2. 2. May 3, 1882 He arrived Barcelona, Spain where he met some Filipinos. He also made his
first nationalistic essay he wrote abroad, Amor Patrio which was later published in Diarong
Tagalog. To complete his studies and widen his political knowledge through exposure to
European governments. Its funny that his departure June, 1892 Back in the Philippines,
Rizals travel destinations in the Philippines included a visit to Bulacan and Pampanga
before he was finally exiled in Dapitan, in the province of Zamboanga del Norte. Rizal was
brought back to Fort Santiago where he spent his last days until his execution.
3. 3. October 1891 Rizal left Europe for Hong Kong onboard the ship Melbourne on which he
began writing his third (but unfinished) novel. He arrived in Hong Kong on November 20 and
resided at No. 5 D Aguilar Street, No. 2 Rednaxela Terrace. (In case you did not notice,
Rednaxela is Alexander spelled reversely). In Hong Kong, Jose opened a medical clinic.
A Portuguese friend, Dr. Lorenzo P. Marques helped him to have plentiful patrons of various
nationalities. His successful operation on his mother s left eye allowed her to read again.
The first stop over of Rizal on his way to Spain is Singapore, which he spent for sightseeing
the city including its famed Botanical Garden, Buddhist temples, the monument of Sir
Thomas Stanford Raffles, the founder of Singapore.
4. 4. March 1892 He went to Sandakan (East Malaysia) aboard Menon to negotiate with
British authorities concerning the founding of a Filipino colony in North Borneo (now called
Sabah). On March 21, Rizal asked Governor General EulogioDespujol through a letter to
allow the landless Filipinos, especially the deported Calamba tenants, to establish
themselves in North Borneo. Rizal was back in Hon Kong in April, 1892. It was Rizals
journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka that was important for him to improve his knowledge of the
French language while on board a French ship, Djemnah.
5. 5. In Marseilles, En route through the Suez Canal, Rizal got off at the Red Sea terminal and
was amazed by the impressive moonlight scenery in Suez and was engrossed with the
multicultural people and language of the place. And he visited the Italian City of Naples. July
1891 Rizal went to Ghent in July 1891 because the cost of printing in the place was cheaper.
He lived in a low-cost boarding house where he had as roommate Jose Alejandro, an
engineering student in the University of Ghent. Tightening their belts, they rented a room
exclusive of breakfast. They bought a box of biscuit, counted the contents, and computed for
their daily ration for a month. In just 15 days, Alejandro had eaten up all his shares whereas
Rizal frugally limited himself to his daily allocation. The publisher F. Meyer-Van Loo

6. 6. Rizal proceeded to take a more than a month vacation in Biarritz, a tourist town in
southwestern France noted for its mild climate and sand beaches. Arriving there in February
1891, Rizal was welcomed as a family guest in the house of the Bousteds, especially by
Nellie whom he had a serious (but failed) romantic relationship. In Biarritz, he continued to
worked on his El Fili and completed its manuscript on March 29, the eve of his departure
for Paris. Valentine Ventura hosted his short stay in Paris, and the Jacobies, especially Petite
Suzanne, cordially welcomed his arrival in Brussels in April 1891. In Brussels, Rizal revised
and prepared for printing his second novel until the end of Rizal arrived at France for the first
time at Marseilles, where he visited the Chateau dlf, the fortress famous as the setting for
Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo.
7. 7. Rizal reached Naples, Italy and was briefly astounded by its dynamic citizens and the
picturesque wonders of the municipality particularly the Mount Vesuvius and the Castle of St.
Telmo. Rizal traveled to Madrid in August 1890. Along with his lawyer, Marcelo H. Del Pilar,
he tried to seek justice for his family but could not find anyone who could help him. In Madrid,
Rizal also heard the news of Leonor Rivera's marriage with an Englishman Henry Kipping
who was the choice of Leonors mother. As if misfortunes were not enough, there emerged
the Del Pilar-Rizal rivalry for leadership in the Asociacion Hispano Filipino. The supposedly
healthy election for a leader (Responsible) produced divisive unpleasant split among the
Filipinos in Madrid (the Rizalistas vs. the Pilaristas). Rizal thus decided to leave Madrid, lest
his presence results in more August 1890
8. 8. In Belgium, Rizal busied himself with writing the Fili and contributing for La Solidaridad
using the pen names Dimas Alang and LaongLaan. When he heard the news that the
Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse, Rizal decided to go home. But Paciano told him
through a letter that they lost the court case against the Dominicans in the Philippines and
they intended to bring the case to Madrid. This prompted Jose to go to Madrid instead to look
for a lawyer and influential people who would He arrived Barcelona, Spain where he met
some Filipinos. He also made his first nationalistic essay he wrote abroad, Amor Patrio
which was later published in Diarong Tagalog.
9. 9. He left Barcelona for Madrid, to pursue his medical studies in the Universidad Central de
Madrid. He also took courses in Philosophy and Letters and took French, German, and
English lessons from private tutors. In Paris, Rizal frequented the BibliothequeNationale,
working on his annotation of the Sucesos. Rizal witnessed the Universal Exposition of
Paris, having as its greatest attraction the Eiffel Tower.He formed the Kidlat Club, a
temporary social club which brought together Filipinos witnessing the exposition. He also
organized the Indios Bravos, an association which envisioned Filipinos being recognized
for being admirable in many fields, and the mysterious Redencion de los Malayos
(Redemption of the Malays) which aimed to propagate useful knowledge. In March 1889
10. 10. In London, Rizal manually copied and annotated Morgas Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas, a rare book available in the British Museum. He also became the honorary
president of the patriotic society Asociacion La Solidaridad (Solidaridad Association) and
wrote articles for the La Solidaridad. In his 10-month stay in London, he had short visits in
Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona. In Spain, he met Marcelo H. delPilar for the first time. On
1883, Rizal visited the French capital of France, where he was fascinated by its architectural

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wonders (e.g. Place de la Concorde and the Arch of Triumph). He visited the Leannec
Hospital to observe and became an apprentice of Dr. Louis de Weckert to specialized in
ophthalmology He also joined Free Masonry and was impressed with the freedom they
enjoyed in openly criticizing the government. 1883
11. In Heidelberg, Rizal worked as apprentice of Dr. Otto Becker and was able to visit
picturesque spots in the historical city including the Heidelberg Castle and the ancient
churches. In Leipzig, he attended lectures in the University of Leipzig and worked on with his
mission of enlightening his Filipino brethren with inspiring stories by translating the story of
the Swiss independence and some of Hans Christian Andersen s Fairy Tales to Filipino. In
Dresden, he met Dr. Adolph Meyer and was impressed for the first time of the spirituality of a
Catholic Holy Mass In Berlin, Rizal was captivated by its scientific atmosphere and absence
of racial discrimination. He wrote the Tagalog Metrical Art (TaglischeVerkunst) and published
Noli Me Tangere. In Leitmeritz, Bohemia, Rizal bonded with his close friend and professor,
Ferdinand Blumentritt On May 16, 1888 on the ship City of Rome Rizal sailed for Liverpool
and arrived on May 24. A day after, he reached London and stayed briefly at Dr. Antonio
Ma.Regidor's home. He then boarded at the Beckett family where he fell in love with
Gertrude, the oldest daughter of his landlord. In June 1888, Rizal made friends with Dr.
Reinhold Rost and his family. Expert in Malayan language, Rost had in his house a good
Filipiniana library. Our national hero was described by Rost May 16, 1888 June 1888
12. On May 6, he went to Oakland. Onboard a train, he took his evening meal at Sacramento
and woke up at Reno, Nevada. He had visited also the states of Utah, Colorado, Nebraska,
Illinois, and finally reached New York on May 13. On Bedloe Island, he had seen the Statue
of Liberty symbolizing freedom and democracy. Inconsistently, Rizal observed that there was
racial inequality in the land and real freedom was only for the whites. But if Rizal were alive
today, he would be surprised that the Americans have already allowed a black guy May 6 In
Prague, he met Dr. Willkomm from the University of Prague who toured him to the city s
historic spots including the tomb of Copernicus and the National History Museum
13. In Vienna, Rizal was met by a famous European novelist, Norfenfals, who toured him to
the churches, art galleries, and other tourists spots in the city especially along the Danube
Rivera. In Salzburg, Rizal enjoyed the baroque architecture of the old town The ship arrived
in San Francisco on April 28. For a week, they were however quarantined, allegedly because
of the cholera outbreak in the Far East. In reality, some politicians were just questioning the
arrival of the Chinese coolies in the ship who would displace white laborers in railroad
construction projects. April 28
14. Rizal went to Munich and enjoyed its famous beer, to Nuremberg to see its doll factory
and Ulm to see the biggest cathedral in all of Germany. From Hong Kong, he reached
Yokohama, Japan on February 28 and proceeded to Tokyo the next day. He lived in the
Spanish legation in Tokyo upon the invitation of its secretary, Juan Perez Caballero. In March
1888, he heard a Tokyo band nicely playing a European music and was astonished to find
out after the gig that some of its members were Filipinos (Zaide&Zaide, p. 130). We can
surmise from this that even during Rizals time, some Filipinos were already entertainers in
Japan (Japayuki or Japayuko). But if there were a person who was truly entertained at

the time, it was Rizal himself who was amused by the Japanese girl who used to pass by the
legation everyday. The 23-year old Seiko Usui whom he fondly called O-Sei15. 15. They saw the infamous torture machines used in the so-called Catholic Inquisition.
Afterward, they went to Ulm and climbed Germanys tallest cathedral there. On February 3,
1888, Rizal sailed to Hongkong onboard Zafiro and just stayed inside the ship during its
short stop at Amoy. He stayed at Victoria Hotel in Hongkong (not in Sta. Mesa) and visited
the nearby city Macao for two days along with a friend, Jose Maria Basa. Among other
things, Rizal experienced in Hong Kong the noisy firecracker-laden Chinese New Year and
the marathon lauriat party characterized by numerous dishes being served. (The lauriat
combo meal in Chowking originated from this February 3, 1888
16. 16. Rizal saw Rhein falls, the largest plain waterfall in Europe and head towards other Swiss
cities Basel, Bern, and Lausanne. Rizal was particularly fascinated with Geneva where the
people speak French, German, and Italian. Restoring his mothers eyesight, he began to be
dubbed as German doctor or Doctor Uliman and made a lot of money because people
from different places flocked him for a better vision. Because of his enemies allegation that
Noli contained subversive ideas, Rizal was summoned by the Governor General Emilio
Terrero. Seeing no problem in the book, Terrero nonetheless assigned to Rizal a body guard,
Don Jose Taviel de Andrade, to protect the balikbayan from his adversaries. In December
1887, the Calamba folks asked Rizals assistance in collecting information as regards
Dominican hacienda management. It was in compliance to the order of the government to
investigate the way friar estates were run. So Rizal had reported, among others, that the
Dominican Order had arbitrarily increased the land rent and charged the tenants for
nonexistent agricultural services. The enraged friars pressured the governor general to
advise the author of the
17. 17. Rizal toured the Italys famous cities namely Milan, Venice and Florence, known for their
arts and culture. He also visited the Vatican in Rome and was particularly overwhelmed by
St. Peters