Postcard: Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- Traveling abroad is phenomenal.
Returning to the United States is even better.
There is something about the familiarity of coming home -- even when your destination is not your actual home -- that is so reassuring.

Instead of home, my travels for the World Cup of Hockey 2016 have taken me to Pittsburgh, the site of Team Canada-Team Russia and Team North America-Team Czech Republic pretournament games Wednesday. If I couldn't be home, I can't think of many places I would rather be than the Steel City.

On the ride from the airport to the city, the conversation with the taxi driver touched upon the Pittsburgh Pirates struggling, the upcoming NFL season, and the prospects for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bruce Springsteen, who was playing at Consol Energy Center, right across from my hotel. What is more American than baseball, football and Bruce? We just forgot the apple pie!
I have been coming to Pittsburgh for work on a regular basis for the past decade or so, and the renaissance of the city has been spectacular to watch. Now, the city is one of my favorite spots in the NHL to visit.
It is a great walking city, and the sights are amazing as you stroll, be it the rivers that bisect the city, the bridges that cross those rivers, the inclines on the outskirts of the city, or the unique architecture that dominates the downtown corridor.
Plus, the city has been revitalized in so many ways. There are so many places to go to eat or have a drink. Each time I leave, I feel like there is more that I wanted to do. That is the mark of a good city.

The trip home from Prague after a week in Europe was uneventful, which is always good on a 10-hour flight. I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked on the charter home, but I was able to watch a few movies and finish reading a Michael Connelly novel. Desperate to watch the New England Patriots game on Sunday night, I had to force myself to stay awake. By the time the game ended, I had been up for 22 of the past 24 hours.
It was a long day but well worth it to be back "home."
Now comes the opportunity to see a few new teams. I can't wait to see how Team Canada, the odds-on favorite to win the tournament, does against Team Russia. Watching Team Canada center Sidney Crosby go against Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin will be an interesting subplot.
In the other game, I can't wait to see what the young stars of Team North America do against a new opponent after the way it played against Team Europe in back-to-back games last week.
Until next time.