I can remember being a bit puzzled when I saw the headline for the first time. Vlamingen ritsen verkeerd, the Flemish zip the wrong way. That was back in 2011 when the word ritsen was beginning to appear on traffic signs. The signs, too, must have baffled a few drivers. They certainly baffled me as I drove down the motorway to Antwerp wondering why they were telling me to zip.

Everyone agrees that this is a complicated country for foreigners to understand. It has seven governments, three languages, two capitals and more than 500 beers. And now, to make matters just that little bit more puzzling, De Morgen recently pointed out that ons land telt nu drie koninginnen – our country now has three queens.

You may have seen the signs along the motorways. Bob is dood, they announce – Bob is dead. If you are new to this country, you might be a little bit puzzled. Who is Bob? And why are they announcing his death on the motorway?

To those who tend to travel intra-Low Lands met de trein, by train, I express my deepest sympathies. It was never exactly smooth sailing, with vertragingen, delays, more a rule than an exception (traag means slow), and treinstellen, carriages, from before the war.