More incursions into Brabant: seeking out its watery ways

I'm a week behind with posting about my activities, but no matter. Nothing of great note has occurred in the flatlands. We're still under partial lock and key; it's still grey and cold (mostly), so the lock and key stuff isn't quite so bad; and it's still winter, but that's no surprise to the rest of you northern dwellers.

What we have done, however, is a little more exploring of our new(ish) terrain, and so last weekend, we took ourselves to Roosendaal, a town some 10 kms from Oudenbosch by road, but quite a bit further by water. Given the extra distance and the biting cold, we took the easy option and went by car.

Koos had been investigating the harbour area in Roosendaal on Google Earth and I'd also seen that it was being renovated, but nothing quite prepared us for the extent of the refurbished marina area. 

Apparently, the local council (the gemeente in Dutch) wanted to attract small boats to the city, and there are now loads of moorings, and even some with electricity and water points. What we found strange, though, was that when we looked at the website explaining it all, it was clear they didn't want people staying overnight, which begs the question why they offer electricity and water too.

Anyway, we realised soon enough that this was not a destination for the Vereeniging, but we enjoyed the outing and our wander around the harbour. There is a marina further back along the reach, so if we want to go to Roosendaal in the summer, we could certainly find a spot. And we probably will. 

Despite the gloomy weather, I took some photos (see below). The quays look a little bleak as much of the new paving is going green (like everything else at the moment), but there were plenty of people out and about, especially in the children's playground adjacent to the harbour. I think you could say it's an area under development, so I'll look forward to seeing if it attracts more boaters when the weather's warmer. For now, I particularly liked the yellow footbridge and quirky gargoyles mounted in the walls. 

These houses are new but inspired by traditional Dutch styles
I have a feeling there will be a lot more of them in the 
surrounding area soon.

Below are a few photos of the official marina. It's not particularly appealing because the surroundings are quite industrial, but I'll bet it looks better on a sunny day. We could certainly overnight here and enjoy a summer's evening in the city.

 To finish on a brighter scene, here's a photo I took today of the Vereeniging just after a bit of de-greening and cleaning. The sun was shining and she looked lovely ... but then she always does. At least I think so!

It's February this week, so spring is on its way (or autumn for my friends in southern climes). Something to look forward to anyway. Have a good week allemaal!