Train stations thrill me. In the U.S., most of us have few opportunities to ride trains with any frequency. For me, my experience with trains has almost entirely been while traveling overseas, in Europe in particular, and so I have a strong associate between trains, their stations and the pleasures of touring. This image was taken on an overcast day in late September as we were about to embark from the fair city of Paris to Munich Germany for Oktoberfest. As an aesthetic bonus, the Gare de l’Est, (the “East station”) has the wonderful, gritty girders and aged glass which juxtapose wonderfully against the streamlined locomotives. The long perspective of the converging tracks pull the eye and the heart into sights unknown.