Rolling and Drinking Beer on New Zealand’s TranzAlpine Express

It’s not the fastest or most luxurious railroad in the world, but the TranzAlpine Express is certainly one of the most scenic. Slicing across the South Island of New Zealand, the 260-km rail line travels from the wild, rocky, glacier-studded West Coast of the island to the pastoral, rolling green hills of the east. In between are the Southern Alps – Lord of the Ring Country -- a stark landscape of jagged snowcapped peaks and strange rock formations that’s been a backdrop for the Lord of the Rings and Nardia films.
To traverse these rugged mountains, the train hugs riverbanks through narrow canyons and gorges, burrows through 19 tunnels, and rattles across high bridges and trestles. Incredible scenic vistas fly by and are gone in a second. But no worries, there’s another panorama just around the next bend.

As gorgeous as the scenery is, the main reason to take the train is that it links the two very different coasts of New Zealand’s South Island and is a perfect gateway to the wonders of this magic place.

Christchurch Reborn

New Zealand is roughly the same size as the state of Colorado, but stretched out into two long, thin islands. There are only 4 million humans living here, but they share the green land with 40 million sheep and 5 million cows. Most people arrive on the South Island (the wilder and more spectacular of the two) via Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city. And its most tragic.



All these buildings will have to be demolished.

 Two earthquakes last year devastated this lovely city and a third good-sized quake hit as recently as December 22, 2011. The city experiences small quakes on an almost daily basis, and 10,000 people have found the strain too much and left town.

Strangely, only the downtown core of the city was damaged in the major quakes – the airport and suburbs show almost no signs of destruction.
But the downtown core was hit hard. The force was equal to 60 atomic bombs. Some 1,200 buildings were either destroyed or so damaged they will have to be torn down and 182 people were killed. The whole central city, called “the Red Zone” is fenced off and will have to be demolished. It includes the town hall, the convention center, sports arena and some 20 hotels. Today, it looks much like an abandoned urban area from a zombie film.


The new "pop up" city (white building will be torn down)

Despite the quakes, Christchurch is coming back. Around the edges of the downtown core, they have already built an amazing new “pop up” city – in truck containers. Dozens of 50-foot long steel truck containers have been stacked on top of each other. They are painted a palette of bright colors with large picture windows and serve as banks and bookstores, coffee shops and grocery stores. Mayor Bob Barker speaks for the city’s spirit, stating that Christchurch not only intends to rebuild (a 10-year, $30 billion project) but the city will become a model for the 21st Century as a green and sustainable, low-rise urban oasis – “a city in a garden” filled with bike paths and pedestrian areas. Maybe. But first those quakes are going to have to quiet down. In the meantime, Christchurch is still a fascinating tourist stop. Many major attractions survived and are open, including their gorgeous Botanic Gardens, punting on the River Avon, and the famous Canterbury Museum (with its town crier ringing a bell out front). Combined with the new “pop up” city, Christchurch is worth a visit, but accommodations are tight so you need a reservation in advance.

All Aboard the TranzAlpine



TranzAlpine Express

 The train leaves Christchurch daily at 8:15 a.m., making a 4.5-hour journey across the island to the West Coast town of Greymouth. Because of the steep grades, this is a narrow gauge line; however, the windows are huge, offering magnificent views of the countryside. There is an open-air gondola car that is windy and rattles quite a bit, but is great for photos and the thrill of being outside, barreling through this wild country. Of course, there’s also a bar car for drinks and snacks.

From Christchurch, the 14-car, light blue train speeds along the Canterbury plains, flashing by green fields of sheep and cattle, until it reaches the foothills and begins the long, slow, twisting climb up river canyons into the jagged Southern Alps. The literal high point of the trip is Arthur’s Pass, where the train enters the 8,554-meter long Otira Tunnel, the longest tunnel in both the British Empire and the Southern Hemisphere.

From here it’s a long glide back down the mountains – the perfect place to grab a local Southern Island Speight’s ale, and listen to the soothing clickty-clack of the rails as the unending scenery rolls by.

Speight’s is typical of New Zealand’s “major” brewery products. NZ is big beer country, but 90% of it is pretty standard lagers and ales. On the South Island, Monteith’s and Speight’s are the big locals. Tui (named after a local bird) is a 120-year old brewery that has taken on a hip, new, sexy image with ads like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn7u5XvupSU. They do a fine East India Pale Ale, and if you can get a Tui, take it. There are a number of microbreweries producing IPAs and stouts, such as Epic Brewing, but they’re even harder to find.

The Wild and Wooly West Coast

Bordering the Tasman Sean, the West Coast of the South Island is the wettest place in New Zealand, and one of the most dramatic. Some 140 glaciers slip down from the snow-covered Alps, creating long, icy tongues that cut huge valleys right down to the edge of the rainforest, in some places ending just 250 meters above sea level. Just 90 minutes south of Greymounth, two of the glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox, are among the most accessible glaciers in the world. While easy to get to, the only safe way to venture on to them is with the services of a professional guide. Franz Josef Glacier Guides  offers half day and full day glacier walks, supplying all the equipment you will need including socks, sturdy boots, crampons, waterproof jackets and rain pants. They’re not kidding when they say “don’t wear jeans,” they won’t let you on the hike with them. You don’t want to think too long about where your “shared” wool socks have been before, and they load you down with more clothing than you need, but weather conditions can change rapidly.

The adventure begins on a rainforest trail that soon opens into a rock-studded moraine, waterfalls cascading down beside you. After a long climb, you are up on the river of ice itself, an out-of-this-world experience. Your guide will cut stairs into the glacier with an ice axe, helping you scramble up and down crevasses, enter caves of blue ice, and ascend to viewpoints. People must be in moderately good shape to do the trek, but no special skills are required and the guides will soon have you proficient enough with crampons to walk along ledges and ice cliffs you would never have dreamed of doing an hour earlier. For even more thrills, Fox and Franz Josef Heliservices offers rides in four and six-passenger helicopters that soar above the glaciers and land on snowfields, high up in the alps. The copters are a bit claustrophobic, (asked which was less claustrophobic, the four-passenger or six-passenger, the guide said, “Oh, they’re equally claustrophobic). But no worries -- the views soon take your mind off the thousand foot drops below.

Franz Josef is a great little town with a couple of neat pubs and glacier hot pools to soak in after the hike. Te Waonui Forest Retreat is surrounded by native rainforest. In the small one-street town, Speights Landing Bar has a fireplace, deck and local crowd. The Monsoon Bar is another cozy place, in the rainforest with a fireplace and young crowd.


The West Coast has a rocky shoreline.



Views dot Highway 6.



To the north of Greymouth, literally hugging the West Coast, is Hwy. 6, which Lonely Planet calls one of the “Top 10 drives of the world.” The snaking road parallels the coast of Punakaiki, cutting along a landscape of rainforest, jagged rock beaches, caverns with glowworms and strange geologic formations. Papaora National Park has many great walking trails, including those to Pancake Rocks, limestone boulders formed 30 million years ago that have been sculpted by pounding seas and rain into fantastic formations. There’s not much here in the way of towns (only 20,000 people live on the entire West Coast) but you could spend a lot of time walking the beach and exploring trails and rocks. Punakaiki Resort is a great place to stay, literally on the beach within walking distance of Pancake Rocks.

The Peaceful East Coast


Banks Pennisula looking down on Akaroa

 You can return to Christchurch by train, bus or rental car. If by car, the town of Arthur’s Pass would be worth planning a stop for a hike to the gigantic waterfalls you can see from the road. Also Castle Hill, another Lord of the Rings filming site, looked fantastic from the road.

Back in Christchurch, for a completely different experience, venture 80 minutes east out to the green, rolling hills of Banks Peninsula. The peninsula was formed by the violent eruption of two volcanoes millions of years ago. The sea eventually worked its way into the volcano cones, forming protected, tranquil bays surrounded by high cliffs. The first European to see this picturesque bay was Captain Cook in 1770.

The French recognized its beauty and in 1840 started the only French colony in New Zealand, the town of Akaroa. Today, Akaroa maintains many French traditions and has the look of a village on the French Riviera with palm trees, seaside outdoor cafes, and flowers. The tricolor French flag flies on everything from B&Bs to bakeries and there is a great section of fine dining restaurants, including tapas at Vangionis Trattoria & Bar and European influenced dishes at Ma Maison.

The road stops in Akaroa, giving the town a backwater, end of the world quietness, but there’s plenty of adventure. You can swim with the world’s smallest and rarest dolphin – the Hector – and see seals and penguins on harbor cruises. There are many trails around the rocky coastline, or for a unique experience, accompany the local postman as he delivers mail to remote sheep farms.

It’s a peaceful opposite to wild West Coast. Riding the TranzAlpine, in a matter of hours you experience landscapes resembling Ireland, Switzerland, Scotland, France and Hawaii. Which can mean only one thing – you’re in New Zealand.



Franz Joseph sits at the base of a rainforest.

 IF YOU GO: For West Coast tours: http://www.keatours.co.nz/ or http://www.westcoastnz.com/ ; for the train: http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/; for East Coast: http://www.christchurchnz.com/ and http://www.akaroa.co.nz/







Tramping Around Wellington

Lonely Planet called Wellington the “coolest capital city in the world,” an accolade the town loved so much, they made it their official slogan. And why not? New Zealand’s capital city is a pretty cool place, and the 300,000 people who live here know it. More than a quarter of them walk or bike to work, many along a spectacular 2-mile long waterfront walkway that is lined with pubs offering views of boats, mountains and the skyline. Come 5 p.m., it’s almost dangerous strolling here as the wide walkway is packed with hundreds of bikers, joggers, roller skaters, and commuters heading home, while the harbor is filled with sailboats and rowing crews. It’s standing room only at the outdoor pubs on a sunny day.

Wellington offers some other world-class urban tramps (what New Zealanders call walks) on the two flanking mountains that overlook the harbor. One of the hills can be accessed by a bright red cable car that takes you to the top for a sweeping view of the harbor, followed by a long, meandering walk back to the city through the free and very pretty Wellington Botanic Gardens. There are well marked trails that go through a combination of rainforest jungle and English gardens.

The other hike up steep Mount Victoria has even more rewarding views of the harbor and the surrounding hills and skyline. Trails branch off at the summit and lead through a forest of unusual trees that doubled as a fantasy set for hobbits in the film Lord of the Rings.

Wellington is New Zealand’s cultural capital and as such has great restaurants and a slew of outdoor brewpubs. Mac’s Brewbar and St Johns Heineken Hotel on the waterfront at Taranaki Street Wharf are fun, have outdoor decks and a great selection of local brewpub beers. NZ beers are mostly very similar lagers, ales, golden ales and reds, with an occasional stout. It’s the NZ wines that are stellar and memorable, but the beer is certainly drinkable, if not outstanding.

There are a number of Irish pubs in town; Molly Malone’s has a fireplace and nice outdoor deck on the pedestrian and bar-lined Cuba Street; Kitty O’Shea’s has live traditional Irish music on Courtenay Place, another street of pubs. The Green Parrot, they say, is where you might spot visiting movie celebrities.

Throughout the downtown, there are art galleries, bookstores and local coffeehouses galore and every vacant wall is covered with posters for theatres and a symphony, all of which give the city a cultural look. Nothing in NZ is very old, but what old architecture you’ll find is here – though overall, the city has a modern feel, especially in the truly bizarre national capitol building (called the “Beehive” because it looks like one).



The Hutt Valley hiking trails

 There’s plenty of downtown shopping and about every third store is selling sportswear or outdoor gear. There are wonderful tramps nearby in rainforest and jungle.  The Hutt Valley is a good place, with easy bus connections. The shop, Simply New Zealand on 101 Wakefield Street in Civic Center Plaza has everything NZ and is connected to a superb information center with tons of free maps and brochures. The must buy is something with Merino wool (the finest, thinnest, warmest wool in which NZ specializes) or anything from the national rugby team, the All Blacks.



The Waterfront is filled with pubs like the St. John's Hotel

 



Wellington’s top attraction is the Te Papa Tongarewa. In Maori that means ‘container of treasures’ – and that’s exactly what the national Museum of New Zealand is. Called Te Papa for short, it’s free, huge and fun…and centrally located right on the waterfront. There’s a cannon from Captain Cook’s ship, The Endeavor, a house that shakes in an earthquake, a walk over a swing bridge through the bush, and more about the native Maori culture than you’ll ever want to know (11% of New Zealand’s population are Maori). The exhibits on the geology of New Zealand help give some idea why this country has such a crazy landscape, showing how a series of faults all collide under NZ, creating volcanoes, earthquakes and mountains that are still growing.

The modern Civic Center is along the waterfront.

Welly’s second big attraction is its most famous resident, Sir Peter Jackson. He was a virtually unknown director when he started filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but Jackson is now an Oscar-winning, international director, movie producer and innovator, who has moved much of his film business to Wellington and the neighboring town of Miramar, known as “Wellywood.”

Jackson’s films have done for New Zealand what John Ford’s films did for the American West. His iconic fantasy images of the stark NZ landscape have transformed the country into one of the world’s hottest film locations, which will only get bigger with the release of the Hobbit in December 2012.

Lord of the Rings filming site on Mount Victoria.

There’s a huge back lot green screen in Miramar where scenes from LOR and King Kong were filmed, and Jackson also built the massive Park Road post-production facility here. Today, it is one of the world’s top special effects centers. Avatar, Tin Tin and some 120 other movies have been put together in Park Road’s three IMAX screen-sized editing suites. Weta Workshop is also located here. This is where they produce the fantastic models of fantasy creatures, dinosaurs and weapons used in many of Jackson’s films. The Weta Cave is a small free museum filled with models and props from films. Not only can you see these props, you can buy replicas of them as well (but like everything in NZ, they are expensive!).

Peter Jackson lives nearby and his kids attend a Wellington school. He is a local hero who has brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the NZ economy, There are several Lord of the Rings tours where you can visit nearby filming sites, such as the place where the hobbits hid from the Nazgul on Mt. Victoria. The tour guides worked as extras on the films and have lots of inside knowledge and anecdotes about Sir Peter. If you love the Lord of the Rings trilogy, one of these tours is a must. There is also a book by Ian Brodie that details all the LOR filming locations throughout the entire country.



For information on New Zealand's "capital of cool," go to:  http://www.wellingtonzn.com/  Wellington has regular ferry service to the South Island and the ferry ride itself is an attraction, passing through scenic Cook Straight.

Walking the Trail of America’s First Christmas

McKonkey's Ferry Inn, courtsey of Visit Bucks County

It is forever Christmas at McKonkey’s Ferry Inn. The dining room in this lovely tavern, located on the banks of the Delaware River, 42 miles upstream from Philadelphia, is always decorated as it would have been on Christmas night, 1776, when George Washington had his dinner here.

As Washington dined, 2,400 of his men assembled outside along the riverbank. They were a rag tag army, dressed like scarecrows and huddled in blankets against the cold and spitting snow. 

Re-enactment at McKonkey's Ferry Inn, Visit Bucks County



Their password for the evening told the story: “Victory or death.” This night, Washington was to gamble his army on a desperate stroke – an all or nothing surprise attack on the enemy across the river in Trenton.

What happened in the next 24 hours changed the world.

* * *

Today, the setting along the Delaware River is remarkably scenic and little has changed from the fateful night that shook the British Empire and saved a young nation. Many of the historic structures have been preserved. You can see the spot where Washington crossed the river and enter the two ferry houses he used as temporary command posts.

Nearby, you can examine replicas of the boats he commandeered for the crossing and march in the footsteps of his men on the old Continental road. The natural starting point is Pennsylvania’s Washington Crossing Historic Park. A short film in the museum sets the stage.

1776 began well for the Americans in their struggle for freedom from Great Britain. Washington successfully forced the British from Boston and moved his army of 20,000 men to New York.



But then the Empire struck back.



Reenactment at the exact crossing site, Visit Bucks County 



In August, the largest armada the world had ever seen arrived off Long Island with a British army of 30,000 crack troops. They quickly routed Washington’s smaller force and drove the rebels south through New Jersey. Marching in the retreat was journalist Thomas Paine, who summed up the situation, writing “These are the times that try men’s souls.”



When Washington’s demoralized army reached the Delaware, he seized all the boats and retreated across, using the river as a temporary buffer. But the end was only a matter of time. Soon the river would freeze and the British could march over the ice. Congress fled from Philadelphia and even Washington confessed, “the game is pretty near up.”

Crossing the Delaware

After watching the film, the highlight of the museum is a digitally reproduced, full-size copy of Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware. The original 12x21-foot masterpiece hangs in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The painting’s depiction of a stern, determined Washington, standing at the prow of a boat, leading an invasion of landing craft into an ice-choked river, is an American icon. Reproductions can be purchased in the gift shop on everything from kitchen magnets to mouse pads.



Wayne Henderek, Washington Crossing State Park

But from a military standpoint, the masterpiece has several mistakes. Most prominent is that Washington’s crossing took place in pitch darkness with the commander probably seated in the back of a boat. For another, the river depicted in the painting is the Rhine.

You can see the real river and crossing point just outside the museum.

The only building here at the time was McKonkey’s Ferry Inn, but today there is a picturesque village of structures lining a tree-rimmed road. At the Boat House, there are four reproductions of the Durham boats that were used in the crossing. Built to carry iron ore, the pitch black craft were 40 to 60 feet long and looked like long, thick canoes.



Wayne henderek, Washington Crossing State Park



Washington’s plan was to stop retreating and go on the offensive against a regiment of Hessians stationed across the river in Trenton. The timing was crucial. An aide wrote: “They make a great deal of Christmas in Germany, and no doubt the Hessians will drink a great deal of beer and have a dance. They will be sleepy tomorrow morning. Washington will set the tune for them about daybreak.”

The Delaware today is a placid stream with hardly a current, but on Christmas night 1776 it was a hellish scene with swift swirling waters and huge cakes of floating ice. The boats were manned by a regiment of fishermen from Marblehead, Mass., but it took these expert small boat handlers nine hours to ferry the 200 horses, 18 cannons and 2,400 men across the icy current.



Wayne Henderek, Washington Crossing



Fortunately, it’s much easier to cross the Delaware today. Leave your car on the Pennsylvania side and walk across a narrow 1933 steel bridge to New Jersey. There are pretty views of the river along the way, giving you time to think about the men in the boats below.

As Thomas Paine had written, the “summer solider and sunshine patriot” had long ago deserted. But the men who were left were special. Among the men crossing the Delaware were James Monroe, who would become the fourth U.S. president; Alexander Hamilton, who become the first Secretary of the Treasury; and John Marshall, who would become a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

On the other side of the river, you enter New Jersey’s Washington Crossing State Park. In 1776, there were dueling ferries here; today there are dueling state parks. Use the pedestrian overpass to walk to the Johnson Ferry House, which Washington’s staff used as a command post.

One of Washington’s aides recorded the scene in his diary. “Dec. 26, 3 a.m. I am writing in the ferry house…I (have) never seen Washington so determined as he is now. He stands on the bank of the river, wrapped in his cloak, superintending the landing of his troops….The storm is changing to sleet, and cuts like a knife. The last cannon is being landed, and we are ready to mount our horses.”

You can follow in their footsteps on a short stretch of the old Continental lane, which today is a shallow grass depression between rows of trees that runs for a quarter mile to the Visitor Center. A Major Wilkinson remembered that the snow “was tinged here and there with blood from the feet of the men who wore broken shoes.”

At the Visitor Center, an excellent museum has exhibits, maps, paintings and artifacts that trace the retreat through New Jersey and the coming battle.

It’s about a half mile walk back to your car in Pennsylvania and then a nine mile drive to Trenton.

The Attack on Trenton

Not much of colonial Trenton has survived. It is a modern, confusing and not particularly attractive city, but the Trenton Battle Monument, marks the spot where the battle began. The 148-foot high column opened in 1893 and has an elevator to an observation deck.

The Hessian commander, Johann Rall, ignored threats of an American attack and stayed up all Christmas night playing cards and drinking. In the gloomy morning, the Americans advanced to the edge of town before the Hessian guard saw them. With cries of “Der Fiend!” -- “the enemy” – the guard tried to alert their men. It was too late.



Washington placed his artillery at the head of Trenton’s narrow streets, where they could fire canister -- tins filled with musket balls that exploded from the cannon barrel like a giant shotgun, sweeping everything in their path.

As the dazed Hessians poured out of their barracks, they were cut down by cannon fire. Rall ordered a retreat to an orchard and tried to make a stand, but Washington’s men surrounded them. When Rall was mortally wounded, the fight went out of the Germans and they surrendered.



The battle lasted less than an hour. Ninety Hessians were killed or wounded and more than 900 were taken prisoner; the American casualties were two men wounded.

After the fight, an uncharacteristically beaming Washington rode up to Major Wilkinson, grabbed his hand and said, “This is a glorious day for our country.”

And it was. From a military standpoint, Trenton was a minor raid. There were still five years of bitter war ahead. But psychologically, it was a turning point. Never again would American spirits or prospects sink so low.

IF YOU GO:



The dramatic crossing is re-created every year on Christmas day.  The Visitor Center on the Pennsylvania side is undergoing an expansion and is temporarily closed, but both parks are open, as is the excellent museum at Washington Crossing State Park in New Jersey.  For information:   www.VisitBucksCounty.com   or www.ushistory.org/washingtoncrossing

Best Book: The bestseller 1776 by David McCullough tells the dramatic story of Washington’s retreat from New York and the attack on Trenton, Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer is the best book on the event itself.

BREAKING NEWS:   Historical artist Mort Kunsler has just released a new, much more historically accurate painting depicting Washington crossing the Delaware.  For a look at the painting and the story behind how it was created, visit: http://blog.mortkunstler.com/2011/12/abc-world-news-now-washington-crossing.html

Walking and Drinking Beer on New York’s High Line

With hip new beer gardens on either end and two of the city’s best outdoor bars in-between, the High Line is one of the best places to walk and drink beer in New York City. This new, one-of-a-kind park, offers a zen-like paradise of trees and flowers, high above the noise and chaos of the city. It’s great people-watching, great beer, and a rare New York opportunity to stretch your legs without stoplights.

For 30 years, the High Line was an ugly, rusting, eyesore -- an abandoned elevated railway that ran along Manhattan’s West Side from 34th Street south to the Meatpacking District. It had been built in the 1930s to take dangerous freight trains off the streets. The elevated railway made it possible to carry trainloads of milk, meat and produce to warehouse loading docks that were built 30 feet above the busy streets below. But over the years, trucking became the main way of bringing in goods and use of the elevated railway declined. The last train to rumble down the overhead tracks was three carloads of frozen turkeys in 1980.

Abandoned, the rails were soon covered with wild weeds and flowers and urban renewal called for the whole crumbling line to be demolished. Enter the Friends of the High Line. Formed in 1999 by community residents, the group had the vision to imagine the High Line as a unique park. That dream was finally realized when the first section from 20th Street to Gansevoort Street opened in June 2009, followed by a second section that extended north to West 30th Street and opened in June 2011. Total cost: $153 million.

Today, the High Line is a thin, narrow ribbon of a park, 40 to 50 feet wide, with more than 200 species of grasses, flowers and trees that meanders for 1.5 miles through New York, 30-feet in the air.

Walking the High Line offers a unique view of the city. Unlike New York’s other elevated railways that ran directly above a street, the High Line was designed to run down the center of the block, going right smack through the middle of buildings. Along the way there are views of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, as well of the trendy Meatpacking District, where you now look down on old warehouses are today filled with chic clubs and outdoor restaurants. But it’s the strange feeling of floating in a garden high above the city that makes the High Line such a trip. A few beers doesn’t hurt.



Meatpacking Distrist

Grab your first one at the Lot at 30th, an outdoor beer garden built under the railway at 10th Ave. and West 30th. There’s a food truck roundup with a half dozen trucks selling tapas and tacos, while Colicchio & Sons has an outdoor bar with local NY beers and wines. Try the High Line Elevated Wheat from Brooklyn Brewery. There are big long tables to share your food and drink with local New Yorkers.Then climb three stories and get on the High Line as it makes a long slow curve heading south. A walk on the High Line is meant to be a slow stroll, taking time to enjoy nature. Bikes and rollerblades are forbidden. There are plenty of sleek wooden benches along the way for sitting and sunning and there’s even a section of lawns. At night (the park stays open until 11 p.m.) the walkways are illuminated, creating eerie scenes as they cut through, under and between modern buildings.

The northern section is the prettiest. Called the Chelsea Grasslands, it’s a meandering path through small fields of colorful flowers and grasses. Here and there, the outline of the original tracks have been left, or worked into the pattern of the pathway. The Diller- von Furstenberg Sundeck between 14th and 15th Streets has comfortable wood deckchairs and benches surrounded by wildflowers, fountains and sumac trees. It’s a perfect place to relax and people-watch, as a steady stream of New Yorkers stroll by.

The 10th Avenue Square has a small amphitheatre providing a unique view of busy Tenth Avenue below, while the Washington Grasslands between 12th and 13th preserves the native grasses and flowers that grew up between the abandoned rail lines and gives some idea of what it looked like before being turned into a park. At the southern end is the Gansevoort Woodland, a thicket of birch and serviceberry trees with vines that hang over the railing creating a green balcony for those below.

The Porch

There’s plenty of food and drink on and below the High Line. The Porch at 15th is a hanging elevated outdoor bar with tables and umbrellas, just below the High Line, but still above the streets. They offer changing New York wines and beers, the current offerings written on a chalkboard. Try the Empire IPA from Syracuse if they have it.



There are stands selling gelato and coffee, ice cream sandwiches, and plaetas (ice pops) in flavors ranging from mango-chili to hibiscus to coconut.

You can hop down from the Highline at 16th and visit Chelsea Market, a two square block food market in an old 1890s bakery that once made Oreo cookies. Everything you could possibly imagine to eat is here, each with its own specialty shop. There are nuts and chocolates, bakeries, sandwiches, fresh fruit and even a lobster bar. It’s worth a visit.

The southern end of the High Line has natural vegetation.

At the far southern end at Gansevoort Street, again built under the Highline, is The Standard Biergarten, an authentic German biergarten with long outdoor wooden tables, pretzels, currywurst and German and Austrian beers such as Ayinger Weisse and Kostritzer Dark Bier. The location under the elevated railway gives it a cozy feel.

Hogs and Heifers

A block across the street is the legendary Hogs & Heifers. This is the classic rock ‘n roll dive bar that in 1992 started the tradition of scantily clad bartenders and patrons dancing on the bar, a routine now copied by Coyote Ugly and others. Decorating the walls are 11,000 bras donated by patrons, including one from Julia Roberts.



The Standard Hotel

 A better peep show is back up on the High Line looking towards The Standard Hotel, a trendy highrise glass building that straddles the walkway. The hotel features floor to ceiling glass walls in all its rooms and even in the restrooms of the restaurant on the top floor. The hotel warns guests that the windows are very transparent and “activity in your room, when the curtains are open, may be visible from the outside.” I’ll say. You can see right into every room in a bizarre scene that resembles a set from the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “Rear Window.” The people in the rooms either don’t know, or don’t care. One guy, who looked like he’d been lingering on the High Line for days, told me, “there’s something happening in one of the windows every minute.” From the minute I spent there looking, I can believe him.



The Half King

 One final bar worth a stop is the Half King, located just under the High Line at the 23rd Street stairway. This classic pub has more than 50 literary readings a year and is owned in part by writer Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm. Whether you stay inside by the candlelit tables in a maze of rooms, or sit on their streetside patio, one of the nicest outdoor bars in the city, this is a great pub with more than a dozen beers. Try a local Greenport Harbor Ale.

If you go:

There are numerous events along the High Line, from guided walks on Saturdays to stargazing with the Amateur Astronomy Association, every Tuesday. http://www.thehighline.org/

The High Line can only be accessed at Gansevoort Street, 14th Street (elevator access), 16th Street (elevator access), 18th Street and 20th Street, 23rd Street, 26th Street, 28th Street and 30th Street. Gansevoort is a only a few minutes walk from the all the pleasures of the West Village.