High Line Trail New York City

#High_Line_Trail_New_York

The high-line was born out of a necessity as the street level train transportation in New York City had over 500 fatalities, thus the tracks were elevated as a solution to the dangerous street crossings
Finally with the emergence of trucking the rail was abandoned in the 1980s

 

Yes its True 😅
Trying to mitigate the danger crossings at this time the West Side Cowboys (who were hired and recruited from Western cattle ranches....hence the name) worked the streets known as "Death Avenue" 
 
The role was to be a safety officer by waving red flags during the day and lanterns at night to signal oncoming trains
In those times we must remember that the trains shared the roads with carriages, trolleys and pedestrians 

The Promenade Plantee in Paris opened in 1993 and was the worlds first elevated urban park that was built on the abandoned Vincennes railway line
 This was the idea plus inspiration for the High Line (as New York officials have acknowledged) when they modelled their version that was available to the public in 2009 

 

Moving forward it has become a thriving ecosystem with over 500 species of plants and trees
Also it gives great views of the city, the Hudson River plus hosts community events, music performances and shows public art
It now has inspired other cities in America to transform their neglected infrastructure into public spaces

On why to Hectors Diner (under the High Line) 
It was featured in the film Taxi Driver plus several episodes of Law & Order

On the trail it features a variety of art installations

A) The Plinth; a space dedicated to a rotating series of new, monumental and contemporary art commissions that remain on display for 18 months
B) Murals; various works with some depicting connections between nature and humanity
C) Videos by various artists plus a large glass installation  inspired by the Hudson River and so on

Fun Fact
They removed over 100 tons of steel railroad tracks from the High Line but some got reused again as design features in the park

Chelsea Market Skybridge
Yes it is a 1930s art-deco structure but did you know one of the two buildings is a former Nabisco factory site where the Oreo Cookie was invented

The market takes up a full city block in the Chelsea neighborhood and is famous for a wide variety of vendors selling gourmet foods, artisanal goods  plus prepared meals and all housed in this historic factory building
 It went under much preservations to keep its original industrial character which certainly adds to the vibe of the area
A great stop along the High Line Trail

Whitney Museum

Some Early History
Gertrude was born a Vanderbilt so into extravagant wealth but used her married name Whitney as a pseudonym for her exhibitions of her sculptures to get an unbiased review of her work
She was a significant supporter of modern American artists who struggled to gain recognition from traditional institutions as she "Lived" their world of frustration

Then she approached the Metropolitan Museum with her collection of 700 pieces of art for donation and was rejected
So established her own museum which ironically is near the tracks in which the Vanderbilt family made a majority of their fortune through the nations railroads

So this is why when it opened in 1930 it was the first museum dedicated to living American artists   

Another piece a Street Art as i finish up my walking tour

The High Line success has now inspired similar "Rails to Trails" projects in cities all over the world

Pancake Rocks of New Zealand

#Pancake_Rocks_New_Zealand

The Pancake Rocks were formed millions of years ago with the shells and skeletons of marine creatures  when much of New Zealand was submerged

 

Each stack has its own unique shape due to the wind, rain and the acidic waters of the ocean with each layer separated by siltstone
Thus when the geological lift eventually pushed the ocean floor above sea level, erosion took away the softer sediment leaving the harder limestone strata which gives it the "pancake" look we have today

KeyTip;
The site is located on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand
The trail is well maintained and free for all to see the formations around the looped walk

The Devils Cauldron
The moniker evokes peril with the powerful forces of nature
 So with that in mind, the name is used
with areas around the world including geothermal locations, waterfalls and even a golf course in my country of Canada

Here in New Zealand its with this coastal inlet where the surge pool rises and swirls dramatically to give it that look of chaos from a deep vortex of water

The karst erosion is a slow process where the chemical eats away at the limestone with the action of the water flowing into the joints or layers which then creates underground caverns with its collapse

Blowholes
For best viewing you want to make sure your there during high tide
Then you will witness the sea surging into the underground passages in which the water is forced through vertical channels creating the spectacular geysers of spray

Punakaiki Marine Reserve

The Pancake Rocks are within this area which protects the coastline and is also on the edge of the Paparoa National Park
While your here you maybe lucky enough to see some Hector Dolphins which are the worlds rarest playing near the rocks (entanglement in commercial fishing nets, disease and low birth rates) 

Other species to be found in the area include many types of birds like the  Kaka parrot, Great Spotted Kiwi, Weka flightless bird
Also Fur Seals, Carpet Sharks and a Banded Kokopu which is a freshwater fish

Kizhi Island

#Kizhi_Island_Churches

The island is famous for its open-air museum of wooden architecture of century old churches all constructed without nails
They were built onsite using horizontal logs of pine that interlocked by using joining techniques which showed the skillset of the local craftsmen

The Methods;
A) Round notches was used for the exterior corners which added stability and helped drain water away from the building
B) The dovetail notch system was applied on the interior walls which provided a strong mechanical connection that prevented tension or twisting
C) Scribing was the practice of tracing the natural contours of the lower log onto the underside of the next log to be placed above it which resulted in an exact fit
This creating a tight seal that helped insulate the structure from the harsh northern climate
D) For weight distribution the timber were stacked plus interlocked so that the force from the upper tiers and domes was distributed across numerous joints
Also the length of the lumber were kept between 3 to 6 meters ( 9 to 19 feet) to avoid bending 

Early History

A) It was a trade route for the local iron-ore deposits from Novgorod Region to the White Sea (14th Century) which at this time was of an economic importance 
B) Spassky Church was built here plus other forms of settlements in the area, which then turned into a religious center during the 16th Century
C) Early 1700s a Defense Post was established to fend off Swedish and Polish invaders
 But there were also issues on the island itself, as the peasants revolted over the harsh, mostly forced labor that was thrust upon them
D) By the 1950s most of the residents left the island leaving behind the remarkable wooden structures
E) Finally in the 1960s the open-air museum was established 

The Church of the Transfiguration was built in 1714 (as legend would say) by the carpenter Master Nestor with only with an axe and after he was finished threw the tool into the lake declaring no one could build another one like it
The church has 22 domes (as the story goes) to represent the 33 years of the life of Christ as there are additional 10 domes on a second church nearby to get to that number

Onion Domes
There are to resemble flames to symbolize the holy spirit and the light of God
To be interpreted as representing the heavens with a connection to the divine realm

The Numbers;
A) One; it symbolizes Jesus Christ
B) Three; for the Holy Trinity
C) Five; representing Christ and the Four Evangelists
D) Twelve or Thirteen; The Apostles and Christ
E) Fourteen Plus; may include prophets or other significant religious figures

Practical Purposes
A) Because of the sloping sides it allows the snow to slide off easily
B) Gives the building an inherent structural strength

The island now hosts workshops and training programs to focus on the past traditional skills of the wooden architecture to show how to carry on with the conservation / restoration expertise

You will get a hands-on experience here as the Church of the Transfiguration is an ongoing project

The Island of Kizhi in the northwest part of Russia and while not Siberia it is situated in a region with a similar climate
There were bitter cold winters here (the homes were constructed to shelter both humans and livestock which provided warmth from the animal heat)
also isolation because of being an island with the closest settlement of Petrozavodsk 70 kms (43 miles) away, plus a short growing season and of the hard physical labor 

There was a resilience and sense of community despite all the challenges as Kizhi was a thriving spiritual / administrative center for itself plus all the surrounding villages

There is now over 80 wooden buildings that are on the island plus some of the structures where moved here like the church from the Murom Monastery that was on the eastern shore of Lake Onega
(same body of water that Kizhi is found on)

Church of Lazarus

Originally built by the monk Lazarus in 1391 as a place for pilgrimage plus it also had a rumor to miraculously cure illness
It was disassembled and relocated to Kizhi Island in 1959 with a small restoration that included replacing a few rotted portions of the structure

To compare, this is a hand man wooden frame that took many weeks to complete with the traditional methods here on the island
 Where in an industrial setting would be days and certainly not as stylish 

Kizhi was included on the UNESCO list of Word Heritage sites at the same time as the historic center of St. Petersburg and the Moscow Kremlin

Vasa Ship & Museum

#Vasa_Ship_Museum

The Vasa was a 17th century warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and it was not salvaged until 333 years later
 To finally be seen in Stockholm Sweden at its museum

KeyTip; 
The admission is free ages 18 and under with adults around $24 USD depending on the time of year
It takes about two hours to view and well worth it to see a 90% preserved battleship

 

The ship was commissioned by King Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years War
 The Vasa was intended to be the pride of the Swedish Navy by showing itself as a powerful symbol of the nations military might with its two gun decks and other combat capabilities
 This included 64 cannons which could launch 250kg (550 pounds) of shot, which was twice as much as any other powerful European vessels of her day

The ship was lavishly decorated with hundreds of sculptures (this grandeur was ordered by the Monarch) but the vessel was dangerously unstable due to design flaws which included being excessively tall and top heavy with also an insufficient ballast

Before the launch tests revealed the craft was unstable but no one dared to report the problems to the impatient King

The Vasa set sail from Stockholm harbor in view of a full crowd but only managed to go 1300 meters (4300 feet) when a gust of wind caused the ship to list, thus taking on water through the open gun ports with the vessel quickly sinking and taking at least 30 lives

The ship was largely forgotten until the 1950s and because of the cold, brackish (low-salt) waters of the Baltic Sea it had preserved the wooden hull
Divers spent the next two years digging tunnels under the hull to pass steel cables through which then slowly lifted the ship to the surface in 1961

With the Preservation;
 A) It started with using a polyethylene glycol (which is a waxy substance) gradually infused into the wood to replace the water which prevented it from shrinking and cracking as it dried
B) The ship was moved into a custom built museum that is climate controlled which officially opened in 1990
C) Any of the other artifacts recovered aboard have gone under a separate preservation process like the sails that were saved by using a fiberglass backing plus acrylic solution

Despite the Vasa disaster the Swedish military and country continued to grow plus also to emerge a a major European power 

Fun Fact;
In the 1830s the Swedish Navy planted over 300,000 oak trees to ensure a future supply of timber for their fleet
However by the time the trees matured (150 years) wooden warships were obsolete and being replaced by steel vessels
 But the forest still stands today, thus something good actually came out of a war

Interesting Latin phrase to use (Taste and See that the Lord is Good) when Sweden was building military strength which comes with aggression and fatalities

Sweden at this time was vying with the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth for the control of the Baltic Sea coastline
Eventually King Gustavus Adolphus was successful earning the moniker "The Lion of the North"

There has always been a myth with the sea;

A) The Greeks; believed Poseidon ruled with his trident plus Aphrodite and Oceanus also controlled the oceans
B) Japanese; they had Ryujin who was a dragon god that manipulated the tides and resided in an underwater palace
C) Inuit; Sedna which was a sea Goddess who ruled marine animals
D) Norse; the water was ruled by the godly couple Aegir and Ran who was feared for her net that could pull sailors to their death 

 
A group of Finnish students put a small statue of the famous runner Paavo Nurmi on the ship (the night before its final lift) as a prank before it was sent to be fully restored, this confused the archaeologists at the time 😅

No hard feelings; as now the figurine is now kept as a piece of the ships history at the museum