Where would you guess I was when I took this picture? Does it not look like some lush park somewhere, possibly in a wetlands, hence the planked walkway?

What if I told you I was in the heart of Manhattan. Here is a view from the same point in the opposite direction:

The park is high above the streets. The street noise still reaches up, but it is drowned out by sound of birds, people chatting on park benches and picnic tables, and the wind blowing through the trees. The serenity of nature is all around, and the city rests — below.

Designed and opened in 1934, the High Line was a train system, running over Manhattan blocks several stories above the street level, to allow trains to go to and from Manhattan’s largest industrial areas. After 1980, when trucking took over the traffic, the line was abandoned. Later, a group of local activists decided to turn it into an innovative park system. It goes right through Chelsea and the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. You can learn all about it on the High Line’s Website.