When I come outside it drizzles, I cycle slightly downhill towards Chatelet. I find the station again, the infrastructure has been renovated, the houses are often just as rickety as they were then. It is quiet, a black cat and I are the only ones moving. Further on, men work on a roar, a ship sails past in the Sambre.
I cycle on a path along the Sambre towards the center, the weather is getting better. I see demolition buildings and traffic roads, but also a renewed quay with metropolitan allure. I end up on a cycle path along the Sambre and head towards Marchienne au Pont. Here a mix of city and village; a father walks his son, men fish or cycle along the river. I look around a bit and slowly go back, the installations on both banks are partly in use, some parts have already been demolished, everything is barbed with wire. I take some pictures along the Rue de Mons; the same place as before, now from the other side. At Rockerill, a factory hall converted into a pop hall, preparations are being made for a performance. At the nearby tram station, loud music blares over the abandoned platforms. The tram track seems to have been laid out in the 70s, the stations have recently been renovated and look unused.
