I randomly ran across this interesting water clock in a mall in Berlin when I was a high-school…read moreexchange student in 1994. Some of my classmates thought it was interesting, but they didn't understand why it fascinated me. Neither did I.
When I returned years later, the mall had changed slightly, but the clock remained. The liquid inside seemed brighter and greener, but everything else was exactly as I had remembered it, and I was even more excited to see it again. I'm generally not a clock or clockworks person; I enjoy automaton clocks as much as the next guy--it's always exciting to see little (or life-sized) characters emerging from a clock or building, doing their thing, and returning--but this isn't like that at all. I just can't explain my own wonder at this thing.
For maximum viewing pleasure, be sure to go to the different levels of the mall and observe it from each one. I've viewed dozens of pictures and videos of this thing, and none of them really do it justice. I believe it runs on a twelve-hour cycle. In other words, the entire process of draining and refilling occurs twice a day.
Its name in English is The Clock of Flowing Time, but it sounds so much better in German, mainly because the German word for flowing sounds like the English words "fleeing" and "fleeting."
If you ever find yourself in Breitscheidplatz or Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, you should check it out.
