6 Minutes, 6 Minutes, Coppa Stone You're On....(Part 2)

After about a two hour drive which included one gas stop and a rest/smoke/chill/water-the-plants-stop, we finally reach Ceska Lipa, a small, but relatively big town of about 40,000, which has been around since the mid 1200s. The first stop was the hotel, Penzion Monika, or Hotel Monika on Jiráskova street, yo, I need to tell unu about this spot...

At first we passed the hotel, it was on a one-way street, so we had to drive all the way back around, and pull up on the side, so Mino could park his car. It is a typical European small town, with cobblestone roads, deserted old buildings, shops and restaurants on the first floor, and flats (apartments) and hotel rooms above, overlooking the narrow streets below. So Misho, Saran, and I walk through these two big ass black medieval iron doors, next to a death metal club, to enter the building where the hotel is upstairs.

We go up these steep winding steps and see a window with a sign that says ring the bell, but in Czech. Luckily, Misho was with us, because like Chris Rock said, instead of "no sex in the champagne room," there was absolutely no English-speaking in Ceska Lipa's room.

After ringing the bell about three times, we finally hear a voice down the hall. When we walk down and turn the corner, there is this old, barefoot, white man with glasses, dressed in an unbuttoned wrinkled collared shirt and pants, standing in front of a door. Homeboy basically looked like he just stepped out of his bed, I think we woke him up. He then motions for us to step inside the door, which is apparently his living room. He pulls out this notebook, which looks like its been around since the mid 1200s, and starts mumbling something, which according to Misho, is a mixture of German and a little Czech. He then starts to write down our names in this notebook, boom, we're checked in. After giving us change from the folder pocket in the back page of the notebook, i.e. the cash register or drawer if you prefer, he then gives us the keys, which by the way, were hanging over his chest-a-drawer, gotta love it.

The best part was when he said, in Misho's translation:

"There are three keys, one for the front door at night, (the big-ass black medieval iron doors which funny enough, had this small regular key hole)the door to the hall, and the door to your room. Make sure you lock the door to the hall, so that the homeless people don't come in and use the bathroom and showers..."

Overall, it wasn't a bad place, the room was clean. It had three small beds, with some tough mattress, a couch, a center table, and a cabinet. Across from the room were two separate showers/sinks and toilets. Oh yeah, apparently in Europe, it's common to have the toilet in a separate room by itself, from the shower and the sink...I actually like this idea, because if someone is sitting on the toilet, you can still brush your teeth or take a shower, yuh si mi...

I quickly changed my clothes and put on the "showtime" gear, and I was ready like Spragga and Frisco Kid on a Dave Kelly riddim. Misho and Mino were playing at 8 or 20:00, so we didn't have a lot of time...the festival was about a 6 min ride from the hotel.