Lantignie的景色，法国博若莱 Lantignié in the Beaujolais region of France (© Jon Arnold/Danita Delimont)

Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!

'Bring us some fresh wine! The freshest you've got—this year! No more of this old stuff.' Steve Martin was joking when his character in 'The Jerk' asked for fresh wine—or perhaps he was talking about Beaujolais nouveau. The red wine, produced in the Beaujolais region of France, is fermented for just a few weeks and requires no barrel aging before it's sold starting on the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais nouveau is a light-bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity. Located south of Burgundy, the Beaujolais region has a relatively warm climate, so Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and other famous French grapes don't grow well there. But the fruity Gamay grows vigorously in Beaujolais and is used to make Beaujolais nouveau.

Beaujolais nouveau hit a peak of global popularity in the 1980s when it was heavily marketed. But as more producers tried to capitalize on it, a backlash occurred in the '90s and early 2000s. In 2001, more than a million cases of French wine—most of it Beaujolais nouveau—were destroyed or distilled into hard spirits due to overproduction, shoddy winemaking, and poor sales. (It couldn't have been stockpiled to be sold later—the wine doesn't age well due to lack of tannins and should usually be consumed within six months.) More recently, supply and demand have evened out and its release is celebrated with parties and festivals.

锡安国家公园的秋色，犹他州 Fall colors in Zion National Park, Utah (© pabradyphoto/Getty Images)

Zion National Park Turns 100

It's been exactly 100 years since President Woodrow Wilson signed an act to convert Mukuntuweap National Monument into Zion National Park. Fewer than 2,000 people visited back in 1919 due to poor road conditions and lack of trails. These days, the park has the opposite problem—with more than 4 million people coming each year, crowds create long lines for shuttles and clog popular areas such as the Narrows. Part of Zion Canyon, the Narrows can be seen from a paved path. But many people like to experience it up close, hiking in the Virgin River, and it can get crowded at peak times since it's—as the name implies—narrow.

In recent years, Zion has even moved ahead of Yellowstone and Yosemite to become the fourth-most-visited US national park (Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain parks are the top three respectively). Also contributing to Zion's popularity is its proximity to other attractions. It's part of the Grand Circle, a region that includes parts of five states and is the most concentrated area of national parks and monuments in the country.

伏尔塔瓦河上的查理大桥和老城桥塔，捷克布拉格 For the 30th anniversary of Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution, bridges over the Vltava River, including the Charles Bridge and Old Town Bridge Tower, Prague, Czech Republic (© Markus Lange/Offset)

Remembering the Velvet Revolution

Today we're visiting Prague for the 30th anniversary of the start of Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution. On November 17, 1989, during their annual International Students Day observance, 15,000 students in Prague began demonstrating against the Communist Party's authoritarian rule over the country. After the official end of the demonstration, the students continued marching to the center of the city. When they reached Národní Street, they were met by security forces who, after blocking all escape routes, began attacking. Afterwards, unfounded rumors of an injured or possibly dead student triggered strikes among students, actors, and other theater workers. These groups began calling for a general strike later in the month.

Within days, mass demonstrations were happening in Prague's Wenceslas Square and spreading to other cities. By November 27, the movement had grown so large that 75 percent of the population participated in general strike across the country. Demonstrators and dissidents would successfully achieve the nonviolent end to communist rule over Czechoslovakia on December 10 and within months Soviet troops would leave the country.

大雾笼罩下的巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山脉，德国 Fog shrouds the Bavarian Alps in Germany (© Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

Mountain mists over Bavaria

If the forecast in Bavaria calls for 'nebel'—you'll know that means fog. In modern German, the word for 'November' is 'November.' But an older German term for this month was 'Nebel-mond' which translates to English as 'fog month'—it's the time of the year when fog is most likely to roll in. In some parts of the world the topography and local climate make fog a regular feature of the weather, especially during certain times of the year. That's called 'fog season.' San Francisco has a fog season. Tampa, Florida, does too. Is there a fog season where you live?

夕阳下的椋鸟，英格兰布莱克浦 Starlings at sunset in Blackpool, England (© Mediaworld Images/Alamy)

Mesmerizing murmuration

Around this time of year, as temperatures dip in the Northern Hemisphere, European or common starlings put on a dazzling show. Most of the time, these noisy birds are scorned for their bullying behavior at the birdfeeder. But in autumn months, they gather to roost in huge flocks, like here in Blackpool, England. At dusk, the starlings take flight en masse and flock together in a hypnotizing, swirling cloud of fluttering wings. This behavior is called mumuration. It's thought to help keep the birds warm while also acting as a defensive tactic to confuse predators like hawks and falcons. But maybe the raptors are just awestruck by the starlings' synchronized spectacle like the rest of us.

Rodrigo Koxa riding the biggest wave ever surfed, on Nov 8, 2017, off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal (© Pedro Cruz/AP Photo)

Big wave hunters watch Nazaré

Today's image captures Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa in action, surfing a record 80-foot wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal. Nazaré began attracting surfers to the area in the 1960s and has since become a major destination for men and women who want to surf some of the world's biggest waves. Nazaré's Praia do Norte (North Beach) is the site of the two latest records for largest wave ever surfed. The previous record was set by American Garrett McNamara on November 1, 2011, when he rode a 78-foot wave here. Then, on November 8, 2017, Koxa set a new record with this ride.

Surfers' ability to catch these giant waves is a relatively new accomplishment that's made possible by using a watercraft, usually a Jet Ski or a helicopter, to tow a surfer into the wave. This time of year, with the return of the big-wave season, surfers from around the world are descending on this seaside town with their support teams. Together, they anxiously await the optimal conditions required to create these monster waves, hoping for an opportunity to test their skills and see their names added to the record book.

The 'Crown of Light' installation is projected onto Durham Cathedral during the 2013 Lumiere Durham festival in England (© Stuart Forster/Alamy)

The perfect canvas for an ancient text

Since 2009, the city of Durham has served as a grand stage for the biennial Lumiere Durham festival. During four days in November, works of 'son et lumière'—a French phrase that means 'sound and light'—provide spectators with new ways of viewing public spaces and buildings. Artists from around the world design large-scale light shows paired with narratives and sound effects. It's become the UK's largest light festival, and Lumiere Durham's 10th anniversary, which begins today, promises to attract more than 200,000 people to enjoy the illuminated artworks along cobbled streets.

This image from the 2013 festival shows 'Crown of Light,' a work that projects an ancient Christian manuscript called the Lindisfarne Gospels onto the exterior walls of the Durham Cathedral. The original manuscript, considered one of the world's oldest and finest examples of medieval European book paintings, was brought to the Durham area in the 9th century by monks who had fled their monastery in Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, to avoid Viking raids. The Lindisfarne Gospels is considered an illuminated manuscript because the book is painted in gold and silver with miniature illustrations and ornate border art. But at the festival, the term gets a new meaning as the illuminated manuscript lights up the cathedral for thousands of spectators to see.

秋日雾中清晨里的特里斐斯城堡，德国莱茵兰普法尔茨森林 (© Björn Lauer/Getty Images)

日落时分，柏林施普雷河上美丽的奥伯鲍姆桥 (© elxeneize/Alamy Stock Photo)

Silver birch (Betula pendula) woodland, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, Scotland (© Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo)

The Lady of the Woods

Silver birch trees like these in Craigellachie National Nature Reserve have long been celebrated as symbols of purity and rebirth. In early Celtic mythology, bundles of their twigs were used to drive out spirits of the old year while in Scottish Highlands folklore it was believed that a barren cow herded with a birch stick would become fertile. Known as the “lady of the woods”, the old Gaelic word for birch, beith, can be found in some Scottish place names – the same goes for birk in England and bedw in Wales.

This nature reserve in Strathspey, in the Highlands, is known for its upland birch woodland, which is home to an impressive selection of moths among a wide variety of other creatures from dragonflies to peregrine falcons. The light, open canopy of silver birches also encourage wood anemones and dog violets to grow during the spring and summer – as well as offering a glimpse of panoramic views of Britain’s largest national park – the Cairngorms - which can be enjoyed, unobstructed, if you climb to the hill’s craggy summit.