A Night at the Station: A Timeline

I never intended to spend the night at Munich’s main train station, a sprawling structure that flows into a neighborhood of food stands, youth hostels, sex shops, strip clubs, and casinos.

Waiting as a Way of Life

Can you believe the guards at the central station were watching a Manchester United vs. Barcelona game, and let a rogue impala canter in and wreck the transformers? Neither can I.

A Full House Without Olsens

Unlike soap operas in America that are banished to daytime television, Taiwanese dramas—or in this case, translated Korean dramas that also become popular in Taiwan—are thriving.

A man approaches the Porte du Peyrou, a triumphal arch completed in 1693.

Members of the French Foreign Legion march with practiced poise through La Place de la Comédie. Their pace is markedly slower than other French units. Because of this they are always the last unit marching in any parade.

Spectators look on as the public celebration concludes with an impressive show of fireworks that lights up the night sky.

From the Ice to the Streets

“It’s just a disgrace,” said my uncle, a Canucks season ticket holder. I could tell the conversation was paining him—maybe even more than my recent move to Boston, home of the Bruins.

Bastille Day

On July 14 in Montpellier, as throughout all of France, there is cause for celebration. La Fete Nationale, or French National Day, is celebrated in grand fashion with parades, formal military dress, fireworks, flags, and—of course—large crowds.

Surrounded at Sea

Suddenly, we are surrounded. Having overcome their fear of humans in order to seek refuge from their playground romance, frolicking otters dart in and out of the water around us.

A peek into the ossuary of the Grand Meteoron monastery. Ossuaries are a traditional part of the Greek Orthodox Church, where the body is viewed as a "temple of the Holy Spirit." Upon the death of an Orthodox monk, he is buried for one to three years before his body is disinterred, cleaned, and returned to the monastery.

Replicas of candleholders and woodworks found in the monasteries are sold at each complex’s expansive gift shop, where the asking price of a one-inch imitation icon starts at five euros.

Distinguished military and civil leaders bear the French flag and that of the French Foreign Legion during the Bastille Day ceremonies.

Pedestrians get a view of the boat storage tents as they approach the racecourse. This year’s regatta was marked by the setting of 33 records.

"The Respect and Affection of All Oarsmen"

According to the Henley Royal Regatta official website, "Henley Royal Regatta is undoubtedly the best known regatta in the world and it holds a unique place in the respect and affection of all oarsmen." The regatta has been a celebrated component of British sport and social life since 1839. This year, the Harvard heavyweight four defeated 34 other teams to win the Prince Albert Challenge Cup.

Spectators enjoyed beautiful weather as they lounged and watched races from the banks of the Thames during the Henley Royal Regatta. The Henley Royal Regatta has been held annually since 1839, except during the two World Wars.

Glory Daze on the Thames

Acquaintance number three looked like he had been to hell and back. Only this is Henley-on-Thames—after a quick chat, we learn the next stop on his journey: a family brunch with the grandparents.

Under the Golden Arches

Thus rationalized, I succumbed. In the homeland of pasta, pizza, and gelato, I was ordering burgers—and a side of fries with that.

The Harvard Freshman heavyweights begin to edge out the Yale Varsity lightweights during their second matchup of the regatta.

Tricolor banners fly on le quatorze juillet (July 14th) in La Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, where a crowd has gathered to celebrate La Fête Nationale, or Bastille Day. The day commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, and the symbolic beginning of the modern nation of France.

Monks Beyond Mountains

On cliffs above the town of Kalabaka in central Greece, centuries-old monasteries have started welcoming tourists in addition to believers.

What appears to be merely a shack is, in fact, the former gateway into the monastery. Until recently, the only way guests entered the complex was by scaling 300 meters up the cliffs or by being hauled up in a net. According to popular anecdote, when asked how often the nets were replaced, a monk quipped, "As often as the Good Lord lets them break."

Spectators eagerly await the procession of the French Foreign Legion during the parade.

Soaring over the Thessalian town of Kalabaka is the monastic community of Meteora, whose name derives from the Greek for “suspended in the air.” Meteora includes six religious complexes; four are occupied by monks and two are home to nuns. Though the fissures in the rocks of Meteora were home to ascetic monks as early as the 9th century, the first monastery was built in the 14th century to protect the monks from upheaval in the declining Byzantine Empire.

Oh Snap, Judgments

Lolcatz were there in the flesh at the pre-game event at the stadium. People introduced themselves as much by username as by given name.

To a Crisp

On the street outside the dorm, surrounded by several dozen disgruntled occupants of the building, I watched mortified as two fire trucks pulled up with their alarms blaring and a troupe of firemen leapt out.