WILHELMSFELD, RIZAL’S ARCADIAN SANCTUARY In April 1886 at a chance meeting at the Philosopher’s Way, a charming path overlooking Neckar River, Jose Rizal accepted the invitation of Protestant Pastor Karl Ullmer to live in his home. In the blissful, idyllic pastoral life of Wilhelmsfeld, where all you hear are the chirping of the cicadas, the warbling of birds, and the mooing of cows, Rizal finished the last chapters of his novel Noli Me Tangere. He would hike 12 kms, a 3-hour walk, to Heidelberg University where he studied ophthalmology. Wilhelmsfeld is almost intact, and Rizal if he were alive today would surely revel in the woods of Odenwald Hills where he used to pick mushrooms and berries. In April 25, 2011 my wife and I went to see Rizal’s bucolic retreat and walked the grounds where our national hero must have tread.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 01:59:23 +0000
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