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Bayernhof Museum – A Pittsburgh House With Many Secrets

One of the things I love about our goal of visiting every attraction in Pittsburgh is uncovering a hidden gem that most who live in the city may not even know about. The Bayernhof Museum in O’Hara Township certainly fell on that list for us, and after visiting it is now one of the many places in the city we have come to regret not visiting sooner.

The reason for this is because when we first heard about the Bayernhof it was described to us as a house of musical instruments. Okay, we love music, but that wasn’t really the greatest of sales pitches that would inspire us to get out the door. In fact, we probably would not have visited at all if it wasn’t for our goal of doing everything Pittsburgh has to throw at us.

After visiting, however, we came up with a better way to describe the Bayernhof. It is a gorgeous home-turned-museum housing one of the world’s largest collections of self-playing musical instruments, nearly all in working order, that you can actually hear during a visit.

Excited yet? You should be.

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Bird Watching at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh’s North Side

Pittsburgh’s National Aviary in the North Side is a unique place to visit, there is no doubt about that. It is the country’s largest Aviary and is also the only one to be recognized by Congress.

With over 600 animals from roughly 200 species, this one has something for everyone. Throw in the public feedings that take place throughout the day and you have one spot worth coming back to time and time again.

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Andy Warhol Museum – Home to Way More than Pop Art

If you’ve ever wanted to dive into the world of pop art, the Andy Warhol Museum on Pittsburgh’s North Shore is the absolute best place to do it.

More than 1,000 prints, 4,000 photographs, and 900 paintings in the collection help make it the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist.

But there is so much more to this museum than just pop art: the seven floors of this museum display many other types of Warhol’s works you’ve likely never seen before, as well as rotating exhibits from other artists.

Although there are enough unique exhibits in this museum to keep us busy writing an incredibly detailed review, today we wanted to share some of our very favorites to give you a taste about what to expect when visiting!

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Trundle Manor – Home to a Unique Collection of Oddities

It would be quite difficult to come up with just one sentence that describes the private collection at Trundle Manor better than the current slogan: “The most unusual tourist trap in the world meets the most bizarre private collection on public display.”

This residence in Swissvale is the home of Mr. Arm and Velda von Minx, a couple whose personal collection of unusual antiques and oddities is second to none.

They have something for everyone, but only those with a unique (and slightly twisted) sense of humor will get the full benefit of their collection.

Thankfully, we are those people.

Disclaimer: Some of the images featured in this post contain taxidermy animals, tumors in a jar, cleavers, disturbing medical antiques, and other oddities that some may find offensive. If this is you, click here to read our review of the Heinz History Center or the Duquesne Incline instead. For those that continue reading on, be sure to hover over the images if you want to learn more about what is in the image!

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Moraine State Park – A Perfect Day Trip

The 16,725-acre Moraine State Park is one of the largest parks in western Pennsylvania and is located approximately 40 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh.

With land and water activities aplenty, this park is one of the crown jewels in the region and should be on everyone’s radar when looking for a great park to visit on a day trip!

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Umami Pittsburgh Review – A Japanese Izakaya in Lawrenceville

One of the facts about Japanese cuisine in the USA we’ve always lamented is that most restaurants are the same old sushi places with eerily similar menus. Sure, you may get lucky enough to find an odd bowl of ramen or some delicious tempura here or there, but odds are good that any given Japanese restaurant will have a menu similar to the rest.

It wasn’t until I visited Japan, where I tasted so many other unique Japanese cuisines, that I realized how much we are missing in our own Japanese restaurants.

Thankfully, many chefs have taken note of this as well and the under-represented foods of Japan are now getting their audience in the USA for the very first time.

In Pittsburgh, one restaurant that will be at the forefront of this blossoming trend is Lawrenceville’s Umami. Themed after a Japanese izakaya (equivalent to our own alcohol-heavy gastropubs), this restaurant is one of just a few places in Pittsburgh where you can find some of the country’s best entrees you’ve likely never heard of before.

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Settlers Cabin Park – An Easy Hike to a Mini Waterfall

With the recent growth in Settlers Ridge in Robinson Township, this would be the last place you’d expect to find a 1,600+ acre county park.  But go just a few hundred feet away from I-376 and you’ll come to Settlers Cabin Park, one of the largest public parks west of the city.

Featuring several hiking trails, many recreational facilities, the Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens (ticket required), and even a mini waterfall, this park truly has something for everyone!

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Streets on Carson Review – International Street Food in South Side

[two_third_last]Angie and I always talk about the idea of opening a restaurant in Pittsburgh one day, and when this topic comes up it almost always turns to our love of the food we’ve had while traveling.

One idea for a restaurant concept that was always intriguing to us was street food from around the world, and when we found out Streets on Carson in South Side was opening to be a provider of just that, we got incredibly excited and knew we had to visit.

But as this was an idea we also had in our heads as something Pittsburgh sorely needs, we also knew that we would be among its harshest critics.

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Climbing the Steps of South Side Slopes for Pittsburgh Views

Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes is one if the city’s most unique neighborhoods due to the fact that the vast majority of it is built on the side of a hill.  In true Pittsburgh fashion when a hill is involved things get weird, and this neighborhood is no different.

What makes South Side Slopes so unusual lies in its accessibility. As the hill is often quite steep, road access up and down is limited compared to other neighborhoods in the city. To account for this oddity, numerous staircases have been built over the years to allow residents to navigate the hillside and also reach neighboring South Side with ease (these staircases are a significant percentage of the 700+ that can be found in the city).

One of our favorite aspects of South Side Slopes is that many of these staircases offer impressive views of the city, and can be enjoyed during a one to two hour hike beginning and ending in South Side. As navigating South Side Slopes can be tricky at times, we wanted to share our most recent route for others who would like to get out, climb some stairs for some exercise, and take in several great city views!

Note: Since writing this post, the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association has defined most of the route below as the “Church Route.”  For more information beyond our post, check out their write-up about the Church Route here. Our recommendations are slightly different, but the listed route will make for a good climb all the same!

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