Neitsitorn Cafe

Ah, well, the last time I was in Tallinn, one of my favorite places to write was at a cafe high up in an ancient tower called the Neitsitorn. Tallinn's city walls are interspersed with these towers, many built in the 14th and 15th centuries. "Neitsitorn" actually means "Virgin Tower" and the name is ironic, since at one point in it's history, this section of fortification held a prison for prostitutes. There is a catwalk near the top of the wall, and the Neitsitorn cafe had tables arranged all along it, with great views out over the old town and on to the Baltic Sea beyond.

This time, alas, the Neitsitorn cafe is no more, but when I walked up there, I found that the next tower over now has a cafe. It uses a separate section of the same catwalk. Wonderful! Today was a great day to try it out, with temperatures here in Tallinn in the high 70's F (mid 20's C). So up I went. The first thing that was a little unfortunate, was that halfway up the stairs there is a landing where they make you pay 2 Euros to go the rest of the way. Ok, well, what are you going to do? I paid and went on up. The next thing that was slightly disappointing was that a cup of coffee cost 3 Euros, or roughly twice the going average. I did get my coffee of course, and it was worth it to spend a part of my afternoon there, but I don't think I'll make it a regular part of my cafe tour. Five Euros ($7.25) is a bit steep for a cup of coffee, all up. Still, it is hard to complain, being here in Tallinn on a lovely spring day such as today!