Time. Where would we be without you? Confused, most likely, staring into the abyss, unsure how to organise ourselves and overflowing with anxiety. Actually, maybe we’d be better off without you, free of the crippling limitations you place on our fragile psyche? This is a travel guide, not a treatise, so time is everything. To you, dear reader, we pose the question; what is the first thing you think of when we mention time?

If you answered intricately designed wall clocks from Kassel, you are correct! We aren’t going to thrust our skulls into the sand, however. Wall clocks are in a strange cultural quandary, as smartphones have changed how we check the time, but a nice wall clock still brings a room together while providing a clear purpose. If you are looking for a wall clock, look no further.

To the shock of approximately zero people, German engineering and innovation played a vital role in the invention and development of clocks. Wind the big hand and the little hand back to the 16th century, and we find Peter Henlein, a locksmith and clockmaker from Nuremberg widely considered the inventor of the watch and one of the first to make them fashionable. By the 18th century, the Black Forest was an international centre of clockmaking, and clever hands and minds across the region were focused on combining time-keeping with style. Is there a sexier duo on the planet? If you can be on time and look good, you are halfway there.

In this case, “there” would be any shop in Kassel selling wall clocks. Sure, these hanging chimers might not be the easiest to stuff into a suitcase (we do not advise stuffing), but as far as Kassel souvenirs go, they can’t really be beaten. Anyway, would you look at the time? Must dash…