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Sibiu

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We arrived Sibiu late in the evening. It was raining heavily at that time . Our residence was just next to the historical center. I had one full day to spend in Sibiu, weather was fantastic. Initially I thought of visiting Lake Baleaย  and then cable car to waterfall and transfagarasan highway. Transfagarasan highway closes in November so there is no way to drive through.

I latter decided to stay put and visit the historic center instead. I left my hotel after breakfast and left for Astra open air museum. The museum is situated atย Dumbrava forest.ย DSC_1877

It has among 400 folk architecture monuments on site. In summer, ASTRA hosts numerous fairs, dance workshops and musical performances, so it’s worthwhile checking the website for events. Thereโ€™s also a nice gift shop and restaurant with creekside bench seats. Get there via bus 13 from Sibiu’s train station. For local buses either you have to buy ticket beforehand or you have to use contactless. The machine in the bus stop was not working and I did not use contactless , so some nice lady in the bus paid for the ticket and she did not accept money from me either.

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I came back from the museum before lunch.ย  We had our food at the market and then walked near the center . Like other ancient towns in Transylvania region Sibiu is also was a protected by wall. The part of ancient wall can still be seen. I visited Turnul Safatului (Council Tower) . Then I walked over “The bridge of lies”. The was the oldest cast iron bridge in Romania. There are various legends how the bridge was named . One story says that this bridge could have been used in medieval times to tell if a person is telling the truth or not. It is said that when somebody says a lie on this bridge it starts moving and it starts making weird noises.ย Another local legend says that this bridge and its name had a really close connection to the market nearby and the merchants that used to earn their living in the area. The legend says that when one of those merchants was caught with cheating his customers, he was punished by being thrown off this bridge.ย The third legend that can be heard being whispered in the quiet pubs of Sibiu is about young virgins that, in medieval times, came on this bridge to meet the boys and to plan the wedding and their future. However, the twist of tale is that if the girls were caught lying about their virginity, they would have been thrown off this bridge. Next I visitedย Lutheran Evangelical Cathedral & Tower and then climbed to the top.