Einstein passed by the clock towers again on his way home, a route he often took with his closest friend, Michele Besso. The two men regularly discussed science and philosophy—including the nature of time. After one such discussion, Einstein came to a sudden realization: time is not absolute. In other words, despite our common perception that a second is always a second everywhere in the universe, the rate at which time flows depends upon where you are and how fast you are traveling. Einstein thanked Besso in his first paper on the Special Theory of Relativity.
These two are from an early morning walk:
Now the rooster crows:
This one is from another tourist and runs a little longer, but is a better view. Hang on until you hear the rooster crow:
The Zytglogge tower (German: Zeitglocke) in Bern, Switzerland is famous for its astronomical clock from the 16th century. The hand symbol displays the position of the sun (left is east, top is south, right is west), while a gold-and-black ball shows the phase of the moon. The angle between these two marks the lunar phase.
The Zodiac is the moving part. The three concentric golden circles show the maximum height of the sun in the summer (outer-most circle), in the spring or autumn (middle circle) and in winter (innermost circle).
At the right-hand side of the astronomical clock is a carillon, which moves every hour, starting 4 minutes before(!) the full hour. It also sounds small bells by means of a 'Jester', indicating the number of the next hour.
While the Jester rings his two bells alternately, a roundabout of 7 bears rotates, representing the (ever recurring) days of the week: the first bear, mounted on a white horse, symbolizes Sunday, the beginning of the week; it is followed by 6 work-day bears (Monday through Saturday), each symbolizing a different profession.
The observant on-looker will note, that the 4th bear turns its head when coming out. - That's because it symbolizes Wednesday, the 'turn of the week.'
When the full hour arrives, 'the little man in rubber boots sitting on a golden chair' starts counting the hour by visibly moving his bearded chin while moving a golden rod (perhaps a sceptre?) left-right-left. He is 'morally supported' by a little golden 'Lion' on the right (i.e. his left) who vigorously shakes his head for each count.
At the same time (somewhat difficult to observe simultaneously), a huge golden male figure (John Bywood) in the very top of the tower (supposedly) rings the big bell up there, one stroke for each full hour. All of this is initiated by the crowing of a 'Rooster' (while he flaps his wings), who also crows at the middle of the show and eventually finishes it off.
