Here’s an interesting Rizal story you don’t hear everyday. When my former company asked me to go to Germany, I was told that I’m staying in Walldorf. Too bad I said, I wish it was Heidelberg (also in the southwestern part). Jose Rizal studied and lived here. Heidelberg is about 20 to 30 minutes ride […]
I have this habit of entering old churches without even knowing if its Catholic or not. Never been in trouble yet — and I don’t plan to be in one. While I was buying some stamps I asked the shopkeeper how old is the church right across their store. “Must be 6, 7 centuries”, she […]
Thanks to these heritage conscious Germans I could see the same town as Rizal left it. It was the same Heidelberg he fell in love with – the same town where he wrote his “Las Flores de Heidelberg”. Same place where he watched those bloody fencing duels. Same place where he studied ophthalmology. Its amazing […]
This long, old and narrow town along the great river Neckar is a living museum in itself. I would walk aimlessly around exploring the town without minding where I’ll end up. This time I found myself in the town’s old bridge. They call it alte brücke, the old bridge, the most beautiful of all bridges in […]
Trying to exercise here is not easy. The weather is just too cold in the morning –its hard to get out of bed in the weekend – the cold weather makes your body ask for more rest. But somehow I did manage to get out to do some exercise today. I decided to climb the […]
For Filipinos, Rizal is everywhere. As I was strolling near the Asian Civilizations Museum (Singapore) the other day, I was reminded of this. There’s a small Rizal memorial there, too, which reminds me of how abundant his statues are back home. Our obsession with Rizal has always seemed to me like an overcompensation. Often cited […]
I guess the best time to talk about the paranormal is around this time of year. Here are a couple of personal stories. According to Nanay (my mother), my lola (grandmother) is a faith healer. She used herbs, oils, and prayers in their little town in Negros Oriental. My Lola died relatively young. Nanay said […]
I recall how my brother Samuel, now living in the US, would sit me down and show me pictures of great paintings, ancient buildings and perfect sculptures. It was the 80’s and I was in grade school. We had an encyclopedia, a 29 volume hardbound Funk and Wagnalls, which my parent paid for in installments. We were […]
wheeling, dekalb, illinois, america As we near the end of another memorable sojourn in this part of the world in a few weeks there’s going to be a new member in the family—a sister is giving birth to her second child before this merry month ends. While we would not see them and their new baby […]
The Hill Town I woke up around 5 in the morning, ate my usual breakfast and headed straight out to catch the earliest bus to Wilhemsfeld (pronounced ‘V’ilhemsfeld) the town where Rizal wrote the last chapters of his Noli. The importance of this town is monumental in our history. Here he found the inspiration to […]
I wanted the train ride to last longer but Mannheim’s main station is only six stations away from Heidelberg’s. Train stations here needs a little getting used to. I got lost when I first tried to go around. The good thing is that Germans are good English speakers especially in the big cities. I’ve never […]
Along the Rhine river, south of Frankfurt and about 18 km from Heidelberg is the city of Speyer. I wanted to see its historic cathedral for myself, one of the biggest, and for some the most important church in the land. When I heard the title, “the imperial Cathedral”, I didn’t quiet understood why it […]
West of Heidelberg is a wonderful town called Schwetzingen. I passed by Eppelheim and Plankstadt before arriving in this town located in what is known as the Rhine-Neckar triangle. I was told that this is a good time to visit the town because its Spargel (Asparagus) season. There’s a route they call Baden Asparagus (which […]
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