I was able to get back to my routine, though it was a little bit of a different feeling today. There were so many distractions everywhere, everything's brand new. But you wake up and you're like it's still preseason, there's still jobs to be had, there's still jobs to earn, and guys need to fine-tune their game because it's going to be a tough couple of games against Nashville. So I think, for myself, I've got to really enjoy the scenery, the different life that is over here, but at the same time you've got to find a good balance and make sure you're focused for the game.
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My routine today was pretty much the same as it always is, wake up, have breakfast, bus to the rink. I'm getting older now (28), so I've got a little bit of a longer routine. When I was a little bit younger, I could just stretch here and there for two minutes and be OK. But I've got to warm up my back, use the Theraguns, go through my lower body with the Theragun for a while. We ran through some meetings this morning as well. For me, it was pretty normal. I've had the same routine for five, six years now, so you'd think after that many years it would be automatic, but a lot of us haven't played hockey in four months. We've got to get into that mindset.
I was able to briefly explore Berlin. I think we'll have a good opportunity to explore Prague tomorrow after we land. For us, one of the best parts of our job is you get to go to these amazing cities and explore and enjoy the food. Last night we went to a nice Italian spot that Nick Bonino picked. Bonino is a foodie, so we put all the trust in him, and it was really good. Four years ago, when I was in Cologne for the 2018 NHL Global Series with the Edmonton Oilers, we had so many schnitzels that I probably gained like seven or eight pounds. This time I'm trying to keep it tight.
Besides that, I walked around. There was an art gallery that almost looked like a farmer's market. It was a couple blocks from our hotel. It was German Unity Day yesterday for them, so everyone was busy running around. So just to get to enjoy seeing people in their day-to-day lives and what they do, it's great. It's cool being in a place where people are speaking different languages and you've got to navigate that. The people have been super friendly. It seems like everybody loves hockey around Berlin. Obviously Eisbaren Berlin has been really successful in the last couple of years, so I'm sure that plays a bit part in that.
The game against Eisbaren Berlin, it was really cool. There's so much ice, and it's a completely different game. Teams kind of play a trappy style. You think you have a good shooting lane but in reality you're pretty far away from the net. I thought in the first period there was a little bit of that, but once we adjusted we were a lot better. We had some good chances in the first period around the net. I thought the game was good -- they were good, they were quick, they skate well, they support well. I though the fans got to see some exciting plays.
The fans brought me back to my college days at Northeastern, with the crowd chanting and the drums playing. I wish I would have known what they were saying and, talking to a few of the guys, it's a song that's specific to here, which is really cool. We were at the soccer game seeing them chant like that. Seeing bits of that SC Bern-Nashville game [on Monday] was really cool with the crowd chanting. That's an experience that we never really get, which was pretty special.
I think we could bring some of that back to SAP Center in San Jose. It gets everybody involved, it gets everybody going. You look in the crowd and people have their flags, their jerseys, they're decked out, they're drinking beers, they're enjoying themselves. That spirit back home would be pretty cool. In the playoffs, you get a little bit of that, people getting loud and bringing the noise. It was a great experience today.
