Back to School

From the first time I checked out Visitpittsburgh.com, I knew I wanted to see the Cathedral of Learning.  I love architecture, history and culture so to visit a place that combined all three was going to be thrilling!  The Cathedral of Learning itself was interesting architecturally.  It is one of the tallest classroom buildings in the world and the descriptions show stunning features similar to the late Gothic revival style.  It also contains the Nationality Rooms.  The Nationality Rooms are classrooms designed to represent the culture of various ethnic groups that settled in Allegheny County.  What made them a must see this trip was the fact that each would be decorated according to the Christmas/holiday traditions of that culture.  I was so excited when we pulled up to the building that I literally almost skipped up the steps past the Heinz Chapel (a gorgeous church on the University of Pittsburgh campus used for weddings, concerts, etc).  That may also have had something to do with the fact that it had started to snow and it was quite chilly outside, though.

When we pulled open the doors and ventured into the building, I quickly saw why the building was called "Cathedral."  I felt as if I had been transported to one of the grand cathedrals of Europe. 

When we checked in for the tour, I was a bit surprised at the "technology" that they offered.  In today's day of podcasts, iPods and digital everything, we were handed a cassette player circa 1990.  That just added to the entertainment factor of the morning as we raced to make sure we pressed 'stop' at the appropriate time in each room.  For $3, you receive a map of the rooms, the key that gets you in to all of the rooms and the audio cassette tour.  As we unlocked and opened each door, I never failed to gasp in awe and say "wow, that is amazing" or "how incredibly beautiful."  It was interesting to learn about the culture of each country and even more incredible to see the traditional holiday customs on display.  Each room had a sheet that described the holiday decor and the traditions that went along with it.  It was fun to test our knowledge of certain cultures and customs and learn more about those that we were not familiar with.  Room after room I was impressed with the attention to detail and uniqueness of each space.  Dramatic colors, stained glass windows, student and professor chairs, paintings and murals and even blackboards all tied back into the theme and time period of the room.  In about two hours, we had travelled around the world without even leaving Pittsburgh!  We visited Czechoslovakia, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, China, Greece, Scotland, Yugoslavia, England, France, Russia and Syria/Lebanon.  Unfortunately, due to time constraints (and the amount we had put in the parking meter) we didn't have time to visit the third floor classrooms of Austria, Japan, Armenia, India, Africa, Israel or the Ukraine.  It was a bit disappointing to not see it all, but at the same time, I am excited to go back and experience the rooms all over again - this time bringing my camera.  To cap off the experience, there is a gift shop that features items that originate from many of the countries featured in the classrooms.  I left with an amber ring from Poland and a guidebook of the rooms and my friend purchased a dreidel.

Continuing with the school theme, this visit, the Buffalo Sabres were schooled by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Buffalo is a HUGE hockey town with all of our home games selling out and plenty of parties and ways to watch the game when we are away.  Our fans are passionate, crazy and a lot of fun.  Since the Pens had won a cup recently, I was pretty sure the atmosphere at a Pen's game would be equally as electric.  Chris and I are both huge hockey fans so we got tickets to see our teams battle it out at the Consol Energy Center.  It is a brand new arena clean, bright and full of amenities.  As someone who is 6 feet tall, I wish there was more leg room but the seats were still decently comfortable.  It was a little surprising to see their luxury/club level was named for First Niagara since that is a local Buffalo company that holds the naming rights to our arena.  But it was good to see a local company with such far reaching exposure.  Concession prices were about average for an arena setting and the lines moved quickly and efficiently.  Too bad the same can't be said about my Sabres.  I had high hopes for my team.  After all, we had beat the Pens when we played them earlier in the season.  The Sabres had defeated the Toronto Maple Leaves the night before and I think that they may have done a little too much celebrating the night before.  The end result is that we lost 8-3, but I still proudly sported my Tyler Myers Jersey and supported my team.  Even if it meant I received a few friendly taunts on my way out. 

It was another great visit to Pittsburgh and I was a little sad when I realized it would be over a month before I would be back.