The Flow of Time

From Berlin

We stumbled upon this water clock in the Europa Center in Berlin.
At first we had no idea what it was, since we were looking at it from the back side, and the numbers were backwards. Finally we realized it was a clock that told time using tubes and siphons and a pendulum and holding vessels. On one side the minutes were represented in 2 minute intervals, and on the right for each hour a bowl would fill. We got to see the whole thing empty at 1:00 PM. Someone has tried to explain it on the web, but misses the joy of the clock.

"Time and tide wait for no man" is an expression that predates modern English. The earliest record of the expression dates to 1225. In this water clock, one witnesses the passing of time by drops and pools of water. The play of gravity with water marks the minutes and hours. The pull of time can not be denied any more than the pull of gravity. I accept the brevity of my time, and rejoice in my moment.