A few weeks ago I had the incredible opportunity to see my all time favorite band in Pittsburgh – Radiohead. I won’t go on much about this, understanding that not everyone melts at Thom Yorke’s drones, but I must express that it was an amazing experience that my twin sister gifted me ten years after our first experience seeing the band. Not only did we get to see an amazing show (2 hours and 8 minutes of crooning Thom) but we also got to explore a pretty fun city. If you find yourself in the Pitts in the summer, then here are some things that you should check out.

 

The Frick’s Summer Friday’s

Pittsburgh is an old steel town and remnants of that history scatter throughout the city of three rivers. One historic reminder of the city’s past is a complex known as the Frick. The Fricks were a prominent family during the Gilded Ages of the late 1800’s that lived in a magnificently elegant mansion that is now open for tours as are an art museum and a car museum. If you are a history nerd yourself and would like to do some research into this time of American history before you visit the Frick, then check out this interesting PBS documentary on the time period which goes into the history of Pittsburgh specifically; at one hour in you can learn about a deadly gun fight between union steelworkers on strike and those hired do the job that they were refusing which was orchestrated by Mr. Frick because the bosses (Frick & Carnegie) were denying an increase in wages and in fact were dropping their wages as well as trying and succeeding to erase the unions. They didn’t tell us about that on the tour.

As a self-proclaimed history nerd I very much enjoyed walking around the old Frick mansion and listening to the experts’ knowledge of the home room by room. And although I assumed that the car museum would offer little to interest me, I was wrong. There was an exhibit on how the automobile paved the way for the suffragette movement the US and the old coaches and cars were beautiful in their own right.

 

Friday night is the night to go to the Frick in the summer months. The grounds are open, take a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy a live band. Ground floor tours of the Frick mansion run until 8pm, but no pictures inside. Don’t eat before you go because food trucks line the way up to the entrance of the grounds, do be sure to take your utensils with you though, food trucks create an awful lot of plastic waste. Fridays at the Frick run through August 31st.

 

Walk the Strip

The Strip is the downtown area of Pittsburgh buzzing with expensive tourist stalls to buy Steelers’ gear until your money runs out and bars and restaurants that lure you in with their industrial themed interior design. Parking was easy for us on a Saturday evening and no payment necessary during the weekend on the street where we parked, from the car we walked, and walked, and walked, about 20 blocks until we reached our destination of an amazing taco joint (yes, it was industrial inside.)

Our hungry bellies did not allow us many stops on the walk down to browse shops, but my nose did perk up funnily enough right in front of a Korean market where an ajuma was grilling kimchi-jeon, or something close to it – Korean savory pancakes with kimchi inside. My husband and I ordered one, each took a bite, and promptly ordered another, the greasy, spicy pancake transported me back to street food in Korea – I was in heaven. If you like Korean food and markets, then keep your eye out for the McDonald’s on the Strip, the kimichi pancakes can be found not far from there at Sambok Korean Groceries at 1735 Penn Ave.

Most types of food and drink can be found on the Strip. We passed seafood, Irish pubs, a Polish diner, etc. At the bottom of the Strip district there are many theaters, check out their websites ahead of time to find concerts, ballets, operas, etc. to entertain you during your stay. In my search for things to do in the city I was surprised to see how much comedy was happening. Lots of improv and sets, find out when and where by searching Facebook for events in Pittsburgh for the time that you’re there.

 

Bicycle Heaven & Randyland

These two sites to see are very near to each other and are by donation. Bicycle Heaven was two stories and hundreds (thousands?) of bikes. Bikes everywhere. Old bikes and parade bikes, facts about bikes, bikes in trees, Pee Wee Herman’s bike, the list goes on. It may seem like going to a museum of bikes would be for the avid cyclist only, but I recommend visiting Bicycle Heaven for everyone, from kids to adults. There is no cost, but donations welcome.

Randyland is a colorful background for countless Instagram pictures so be sure to drag your #instagramhusband along! Bicycle Heaven are conveniently near each other, although were not aware of that and visited them on separate days. I suggest visiting both at the same time. What is Randyland? Well, it’s a building that has been painted in vibrant colors and is adorned with positive messages for visitors. Some of the art reminded me of Buddhist temples in Korea and as a whole Randyland could be described as a little brother to Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.

 

These are just a few things to see and do in Pittsburgh, and bonus, they’re all free! Perfect for a budget traveler. I’m sure that there is also great yoga in Pittsburgh, next time I’ll check out some studios and do reviews. Until then, history and art are pretty good ways to spend time when not doing yoga.