Pictures of Barlad

Communist-era apartment buildings; the city is filled with them, and our sponsor lives in one of them with her husband, mother, and daughter. As Mihaela was giving us the city tour we were fortunate enough to watch a group of girls at the elementary school rehearsing for a performance that we would catch part of the next day. They were at the homecoming ceremony welcoming back the Romanian troops returning from Iraq. Their sponsor actually motioned for us to come in and have a seat, but we stayed at the gate and clapped when they were done. We watched all three of their performances. What a treat!

The first picture on the left is a building that has been restored to its pre-Communist era glory. Mihaela said that it is an example of the architecture of the city before Ceausescu era. There is a beautiful park in the city center; this is the entrance. Statues on tall pedastals abound. They're in front of every school and at the entrances to the parks.