"To the Flower of Heidelberg''

During his stay in heidelberg, Rizal usedd to wander around, strolling, along the cool bank of the "Neckar River" admiring the picturesque sceneries of countryside. one day as he roamed around he was attracted by the blooming flower. among this flower was his favorite flower - the light blue "forget me not" The blooming flower of heidelberg with their riotous color and sweet scent, reminded him of home. in his moment of homesickness, he wrote on April 22, 1886, affine poem as follows; To the Flowers of Heidelberg Go to my country, go, O foreign flowers, sown by the traveler along the road, and under that blue heaven that watches over my loved ones, recount the devotion the pilgrim nurses for his native sod! Go and say say that when dawn opened your chalices for the first time beside the icy Neckar, you saw him silent beside you, thinking of her constant vernal clime. Say that when dawn which steals your aroma was whispering playful love songs to your young sweet petals, he, too, murmured canticles of love in his native tongue; that in the morning when the sun first traces the topmost peak of Koenigssthul in gold

and with a mild warmth raises to life again the valley, the glade, the forest, he hails that sun, still in its dawning, that in his country in full zenith blazes. And tell of that day when he collected you along the way among the ruins of a feudal castle, on the banks of the Neckar, or in a forest nook. Recount the words he said as, with great care, between the pages of a worn-out book he pressed the flexible petals that he took. Carry, carry, O flowers, my love to my loved ones, peace to my country and its fecund loam, faith to its men and virtue to its women, health to the gracious beings that dwell within the sacred paternal home. When you reach that shore, deposit the kiss I gave you on the wings of the wind above that with the wind it may rove and I may kiss all that I worship, honor and love! But O you will arrive there, flowers, and you will keep perhaps your vivid hues; but far from your native heroic earth to which you owe your life and worth, your fragrances you will lose!

For fragrance is a spirit that never can forsake and never forgets the sky that saw its birth. With Pastor Ullmer at Wilhelmsfeld Rizal spent a three-month summer vacation at Wilhelmsfeld where he stayed at the place of a Protestant pastor, Dr. Karl Ullmer. The pastor has a wife and two children named Etta and Fritz. After Rizal vacation to dr ullmer he promise to write a letter to them. REVEREND SIR PASTOR; I promised to write you in case I should decide to remain in the country for a few weeks. Since you have had the kindness to secure a boarding-house for me, on Sunday evening, if the weather is fine, I shall be in Wilhelmsfeld. I have been told that the inhabitants of Wilhelmsfeld do not speak correct German but a dialect. If I were not afraid of imposing upon your kindness, I would ask you, if possible, to let me live with you instead of with someone else, for I shall not only live with a respectable family, whose friendship I value so highly, but I will also speak good German, which to me is the main thing. However, if this is impossible or inconvenient for you, I will take the room which you may consider good, whatever it may be. I am sending my regards to all your lovable family. Accept in advance my thanks and the assurance of my profound esteem. J. RIZAL

Rizal also writes a letter to friedrich;

Dear Friedrich I hope you are not angry with me for having long delayed answering your kind letter. It is because I have nothing to say, that is, nothing important, and so I could not write you a single line. I am on my way home and perhaps I shall never come back here. I am going via Switzerland, Italy, etc. If you want something, just write me and I will do my best to comply with your wish. My address is: Seor Don Jose Rizal Calamba (Laguna de Bay) (Iles Philippines) Tell the good Frau Pastor, your dear Mama, that when I reach home, I shall write her. I shall never forget how good she, as well as your Papa, had been to me when I was an unknown stranger, without friends and recommendations, in Baden. In Prussia and Austria my life became a little better because there I made many friends and acquaintances who so kindly accepted me, a stranger. I shall never forget Wilhelmsfeld with its hospitable parish house. I embrace you. Your good friend, Rizal First Letter to Blumentritt On July 31,1886, Rizal wrote his first letter in German to Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt, director of the Ateneo of Leitmeritz, Austria. He had heard of this ethnologist and his interest on Philippine languages. In his letter, Rizal said; i have heard that you are studying our language and that you are had already publish some work about it; permit me to send you a valuable book

written by my countryman in our language. The Spanish version is mediocre because the author is only a modest writer but the tagalog part is good, and it is precisely the language spoken in our province. With the letter, Rizal sent the book which he mentioned. That book was entitled ARITHMETICA and it was publosh in two languages- Spanish and Tagalog by the university of Sto Tomas Press in 1868. The author was Rufino Baltazar Hernandez, a native of Santa Cruz, Laguna. Rizal letter from heidelberg impressed Blumentritt, who reciprocated by sending Rizal a gift of two book. It marked the beginning of their long and frequent correspondence, also the begin of the beautiful friendship that lasted all their life . Blumentritt, the Austrian, Rizal the Filipino INSIGHT To the Flowers of Heidelberg April 22, 1886 Rizal wrote a fine poem entitled A Las Flores de Heidelberg (To the Flowers of Heidelberg) because he was fascinated by the blooming flowers along the Neckar River, which is the light blue flower called forget-me-not. Rizal spent a three-month summer vacation at Wilhelsfeld where he stayed at the place of a Protestant pastor, Dr. Karl Ullmer. The pastor has a wife and two children named Etta and Fritz. JUNE 25, 1886- he ended his sojourn and felt pays of sadness May 29 1887- Rizal wrote from Minich to Friedrich July 31, 1886 Rizal wrote his first letter to Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt who is the Director of the Ateneo of Leitmeritz, Austria. Blumentritt is an Austrian ethnologist and he has an interest in the Philippine language. Rizal sent Aritmetica (Arithmetic) book to Blumentritt which was published in

2 languages Spanish and Tagalog by the University of Santo Tomas Press in 1868. The author was Rufino Baltazar Hernandez. Blumentritt became the best friend of Rizal. Conclusion Rizal stayed in Heidelberg was full of sadness because he got homesick of his country, because of the homesick of Rizal he made a poem entitled To the Flower of Heidelberg. He admiring the beauty of the Philippine, he was proud for being a Filipino. But in spite of the bad things they did to him, he still thankful for the guidance that nobody of his family got sick. Even though Rizal left Heidelberg, the good memories will still remain in his mind and heart. It was been a nice experience.

Biography Jose Rizal; life, work and writing by Gregorio F. Zaide

The Dr. Life and Robert of Dr. L. Jos Rizal Yoder

DrRobertL_Yoder@excite.com

http://www.geocities.com/ufreytag/page5.html Accessed 10 January 2007 http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_new/2003/feb/01-05.htm

To the Flower of Heidelberg

Presented by: Whendy- Lyn Rivera

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of the subject Life and Work of Rizal

Presented to: Dr. Alfonso Lopez

Summer Class 2011