Rizal decided to leave Spain and continue his studies in ophthalmology in France and Germany. In Paris, he worked at an eye clinic and took the opportunity to visit fellow Filipinos. He then moved to Germany, living first in Heidelberg where he worked at an eye hospital and visited scenic areas, and writing poetry inspired by the landscapes. Rizal later traveled to other German cities like Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin, furthering his studies, befriending intellectuals, and eventually completing his first novel Noli Me Tangere, though he experienced periods of poverty.