While it is always sad to bid adieu to summer, the changing of the leaves here in New York City are a reminder that Fall is upon us - and topping the list of things to celebrate is a new season of How I Met Your Mother. 

With a chill in the air outside, I turned off the AC, cracked a window and settled in to watch the Season 8 premiere "Farhampton."

Tonight's episode did well to advance two major story lines, but as is often the case on this program, before we could get a glimpse of a little ways down the road, we had to first backtrack to gain some new perspective. As the premiere opened on a wedding day that looked to be going horribly wrong, namely Robin and Barney's, we quickly were treated to the story of another nuptial nightmare by Ted as he recounted the time he insisted Victoria leave a note for her fiance' before walking out on him.

Guest Star Thomas Lennon was a surprising choice as Victoria's beau Klaus, but his German-infused conversation with Ted was certainly "wunderbar." After speaking to the cold-footed Klaus, Ted too will most likely realize that Victoria is that thing he almost wants... but not quite. His feelings for her were not instantaneously the kind that course though you.

That woman for Ted does exist, though, and we got a glimpse of her there on the Farhampton train platform under the fabled yellow umbrella. While her identity still remains a mystery, I liked that the season opener dangled something for the Mother Mystery fans out there. Also catching my eye was the bandaged right hand of Ted as he sat down on the train station bench. File that under things that make you go hmmm for now. 

Despite what the future holds for Barney and Quinn, it seemed apparent that she isn't going anywhere for the time being. As the truth about her fiance' and Robin was revealed, we were treated to quite possibly the greatest Barney Stinson speech of all time, the entirety of which can be found in this week's best How I Met your Mother quotes section. I had forgotten about his nickname for the blue French Horn Ted had stolen and laughed pretty hard at that reference as well as others he mentioned.

The most touching moment of the episode without a doubt was when Barney gave the key to the storage unit to Robin that housed the box full of mementos from their relationship. The Photoshopped tiger was pretty great, but I was glad to see that he too had trouble letting go of the past.

Marshall and Lily vowed to not become the kind of people who have a baby and become total zombies, but sadly their scenes had about as much energy as the new parents did on screen. I chalked it up to Jason Segel's busy offseason and am confident he and Alyson Hannigan will fall back into their usually hitch free stride soon enough.  

Little Marvin, however, was too cute for words as he smiled away in his crib during the closing montage featuring a great selection from Band of Horses which did well to add an emotional lift to the critical closing scene.

Did you fell the anticipation coursing through you like I did? Let us know your thoughts and predictions for the rest of the season as we continue down the road with this amazing cast of characters.