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The Neris river, Vilnius, Lithuania [via aldask]
The River Liffey, Dublin, Ireland [via Monosnaps]
It was moments after an exchange of comments with Emily about the resonance of the Vilnius of Vilnius Poker and Joyce’s Dublin, that I read Gavelis’ in text reference:
“The River! The Neris! he muttered, shaking invisible drops from his hand, “Why not Joyce’s riverrun? How is the Neris less than the Liffey? Why doesn’t anyone immortalise it as the current of dreams and oblivion? When you think ‘river,’ you immediately remember the Lethe and the Liffey . . . Dublin and the Liffey have been forever impressed onto the world’s brains, and old man Joyce sits in the heavens and jeers . . . What’s the Liffey without him-a muddy stream, and nothing more. I saw it myself . . . But where’s the Neris? Where’s Vilnius? Why doesn’t the world know anything about them?
Time's Flow Stemmed 
>I just read that passage last night, too! And I have to say, it's uncomfortably accurate…I really DIDN'T know anything at all about Lithuania, let alone Vilnius, let alone the Neris, before starting this book. Have been cruising Wikipedia ever since.Gorgeous shots of the two rivers, by the way.
>I've been a little disappointed to discover that Vilnius seems to be attracting the stag-hen night crowd, like weekend Prague. I want to visit the city, but it will have to be a mid0week trip.