Hi & welcome aboard from Flanders! 
We have a proverb here, that when one is completely unaware of something "that he/she hears the thunder in Cologne" (Flemish/Dutch: "hij/zij hoort het donderen in Keulen" , Deutsch: "er/sie hört es donnern in Köln") 
And also in Dutch/ Flamish: Aken en Keulen zijn niet op een dag gebouwd (Aachen and Köln were not built on one day meaning: you don't have to do it all at once (Right, Hadoque?)
Warm welcome from Amsterdam!
