"They Should Probably Have Some Counseling - Leg 6 Part 1"
- December 21
PIT STOP: BRANDENBURG GATE, BERLIN, GERMANY
Escaping Senegal and flying 3000 miles back to Europe, the teams
scaled what was left of the Berlin Wall, drank beer, made brats
and raced in soap box cars to get to the PIT STOP. Freddy & Kendra
(Team Engaged Models) arrived in first...but only because Jonathan
& Victoria (Team Dom-Sub) had to stop when Victoria felt keeping
her hubby's things from being stolen was more vital than winning
the leg. This got Vic a yelling and a shove by Jonathan...and it
got Jonathan my "biggest b@#$tard of 2004 reality television"
award. Oh...and Don & Mary Jean (Team Married Grands) couldn't get
out of the cellar and were eliminated.
At 2:55am Euro-time, 12 hours after departing, Freddy & Kendra
depart with this clue:
ROUTE INFO: |
Head for the guard shack at
Checkpoint Charlie (the only spot in the Berlin Wall where
officials could go through) to find your next clue. You have
$408 for this leg of the Race. |
The two take off...and Kendra
wants to go back to the hotel to 'research'. But Freddy want to go
onward. One minute later, the spouse abuser and the vict... I
mean, Team Dom-Sob departs. Vic says that, though she doesn't like
anyone screaming at her, "that's just Jon." (No,...that's what's
WRONG! OK, OK, I won't bicker about this anymore...for THIS recap,
anyway.) A half-hour later, Hayden & Aaron (Team 'Dating' Actors)
depart, balancing Hayden's impetuousness with Aaron's patience.
CHECKPOINT CHARLIE, BERLIN, GERMANY
Team Engaged Models' taxi arrives at the guard gate that once was
the ONLY thing NOT separating East and West Berlin from each
other. In the clue box they find this clue:
ROUTE INFO: |
Head for the Olympic Stadium,
site of the 1936 Summer Olympics. Near the front entrance, you
will find a sign-up board for the order to get your next clue
during the hours of operation. |
They get back into their
cab...just as Kris & Jon (Team Restauranteurs) depart. They're
surprised at how well they fit together as a team. Not too soon
after they leave, Gus & Hera (Team Who's Da Boss) follow in fifth.
They decide to walk the 2km to the Checkpoint. 6th to leave is
Adam & Rebecca (Team Shrek), with Rebecca arguing with Adam about
walking vs. cabbing.
Jonathan & Victoria reach the Checkpoint and tell the driver to
BOOK it to the Stadium...and, again, Jon FREAKS when Hayden &
Aaron's cab pulls up. Finally, over an hour-and-a-half after the
leaders split, Lori & Bolo (Team Rasslers) leave the PIT STOP,
still confident they can forge ahead.
Team Restauranteurs arrive at the Checkpoint in fourth...just
before Team Who's Da Boss arrives in fifth. They both take taxis
to the Stadium. Team Shrek is next to the point and likewise cab
it to...
OLYMPIC STADIUM, BERLIN, GERMANY
Well, whatever the contestants are signing up for will have to
wait til morning since the "Hours of Operation" are 6am to 5pm.
But Freddy & Kendra sign their names first. Kendra wants to do
research during the down-time, but Freddy says it's a waste of
time. As Team Rasslers get the clue at the Checkpoint, Team
'Dating' Actors arrives. Jonathan & Victoria are right behind
them...but can't seem to find the sign-up board. When they DO
locate it and run for it, it's already too late: the actors beat
them to it. This makes Jonathan even MORE angry... SO angry, in
fact, that he just writes HIS name on the board. (Hey, if he wants
to run the Race himself, I'M all for it.) As they get back in a
cab to find a place to sleep, Kris & Jon sign-up in fourth. The
rest of the teams arrive in this order: Gus & Hera in fifth, Adam
& Rebecca in sixth and Lori & Bolo in last.
Guten morgen, Racers! They are greeted with a VERY tall crane in
the parking lot and a lot of bungee equipment. They already have
assumptions as to what this task is...and, as they file in to the
clue box, they find it's a...:
ROAD BLOCK:
("Who's ready to be stretched to the limit?") |
One team member must complete a
"hot rocket bungee": you will be strapped onto a bungee cord
at the surface, then sling-shot over 200 feet into the air.
Once you complete this and return to Earth, the bungee
operator will give you your next clue. Teams must do this in
the order they signed up for. |
And the ladies of each male/female
team all decide to do this. Kendra, Hayden, Victoria, Kris, Hera,
Rebecca (after some arguing) and Lori will go in that order.
Kendra's the first to get strapped in to they odd contraption
while everyone else plays Fear Factor and tries to psyche
the others out before THEIR turn. Kendra gets weights tied to her
ankles and a cord clipped to the harness around her torso. Then
the other end of the cord is lifted by the crane and, after a
minute of intensity, the ripcord is pulled. The scream from her
lips could PROBABLY be heard in Munich... and, when she comes back
down, she STAYS down, sick and dizzy. After a minute or so,
though, Freddy helps her to her wobbly feet and they both get
their next clue:
ROUTE INFO: |
Fly to Budapest, Hungary (about
450 miles away). Once at the international airport, go to the
long-term parking garage and find your marked Travant (a
notoriously unreliable local car). Drive it to the town of
Eger (62 miles away) and locate Eger Castle to find your next
clue. Should your Travant break down, you may get a
replacement, though you WILL lose the time it takes to bring
it to you. |
As they split for the airport,
Hayden, the acrophobe, gets ready for HER rocket 20 stories into
the air. She DOESN'T scream, but flops around like a fish on a
hook as she bounces up and down on the cord. They get their ticket
to Budapest and a frightened Victoria gets strapped in, with
Jonathan reassuring her that it's like being a super-hero. As
she's flung, she gasps and groans like...well, I promised not to
comment on that.
Team Engaged Models arrives at the international airport and look
for flights to Hungary. Malev Airlines, the national airline of
Hungary, is there...but the ticket counter is closed. But there's
a neat little innovation in Berlin: "ticketcenter". Think of it as
the "TicketMaster" of airlines... only without the annoying Eddie
Veder boycott. Freddy & Kendra work to get tickets...
...while a not-at-all nervous Kris takes the hot rocket ride into
fourth place for her and Jon. Hera can't believe Gus is letting
her do this. It's hard for the father...but, as long as it's safe,
let 'er at it. She screams quite a bit, but puts them in fifth.
Rebecca and Lori follow suit and EVERYONE goes to the airport.
There, Team 'Dating' Actors meet Team Engaged Models at the
ticketcenter to get their tickets on Malev. They all get tickets
for a flight arriving in Budapest at 11:05am. By the time Team
Dom-Sub arrive, THEY go to the center. Team Restauranteurs,
however, decide to go to a GERMAN airline to find flights out
while Team Who's Da Boss goes to a travel agent. Both Gus & Hera
and Jonathan & Victoria try to get on the Malev flight...and the
father/daughter time get booked on it...thus causing the
ticketcenter agent to tell the entrepreneurs that they'll have to
look elsewhere. And Jonathan, as always, is NOT happy! So,
instead, they get on Air Berlin's flight.
Kris & Jon and Team Shrek get booked on the Air Berlin flight as
well. Gus & Hera then approach the Malev ticket counter to receive
their tickets... and that sends Jonathan WILD that THEY got HIS
tickets! And, of course, he blames... the ticket agent!
Team Rasslers arrive and find both Malev and Air Berlin flights
booked solid. But Luftansa...THEY have tickets available. There
just ONE problem, though: though the plane leaves FIRST, it
arrives in Budapest LAST of the three flights, 10 minutes behind
Air Berlin and 70 behind Malev. Ah, well, if that's all they
got...
LUFTANSA FLIGHT (1st to leave, last arrive): Team
Rasslers
MALEV FLIGHT (2nd to leave, 1st to arrive): Team
Who's Da Boss, Team 'Dating' Actors and Team Engaged Models
AIR BERLIN FLIGHT (last to leave, 2nd to arrive):
Team Dom-Sub, Team Shrek and Team Restauranteurs
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
At 11:05am, the Malev flight touches down in the
Hungarian capital. Sox Americans sprint off the plane and run to
the parking lot. There, they find these... I'm not even sure
"cars" fits the definition. They loojk like they're missing the
giant key for winding. They make the word "compact" seem like a
luxury word. And they have the oddest shifting mechanism anyone
has EVER seen! Gus has a hard time fitting his rotund tummy in,
but he and Hera DO leave in first since Hayden & Aaron have a hard
time getting the car into gear. But the Model Alliance strikes
again as Freddy & Kendra stop to get them started. But they don't
wait too long and leave them behind, merely saying that it might
be the battery.
As the two teams fight for position, Team 'Dating' Actors learn
that it IS a dead battery and are allowed to take another car. The
problem is Aaron got angry at the broken car and punched a steel
blocking pole. Still, since HAYDEN is driving ANYWAY, they are
able to head out.
At 12:10, the Air Berlin flight arrives and six MORE American rush
out. Kris calls the calls "Herbies" (because of the numbers beside
them, I guess)...while Jonathan curses that they're in last (unbeknowst
that Team Rasslers is still 10 minutes behind them). Jonathan
DOES, however, get them out of the lot first (since he knows
cars). Kris & Jon are in fifth...and Team Shrek lag behind but
FINALLY gets in gear.
But Adam insist on learning HOW to drive the car before tearing
down the highway. This gives the wrestlers ample time to catch up.
Adam pulls out at last, with Lori driving right behind them.
Everyone seems to be enjoying the scenery since - let's face it -
these little buggies ain't exactly built for speed. Hayden & Aaron
miss the exit to Eger, but are still a fair clip ahead of the rest
so it's not so bad.
EGER, HUNGARY
The castle can't really be missed
since it's on a hill overlooking most of the village of Eger. As
such, Freddy & Kendra arrive first to the:
DETOUR: Catapult
Crash or Cannonball Run? |
CATAPULT CRASH: Use a medival
catapult to launch a melon 150 feet to crash into a wooden box
target. Continue until you hit the target, readjusting as
necessary. Once you hit the target, you will be able to
retrieve your next clue inside the target.
CANNONBALL RUN: Haul a nearby cannon up the incline to the
courtyard. Then haul 55 cannonballs (each weighing 4 pounds)
to the courtyard and stack them in a pyramid like the one show
at the courtyard. Once the judge at the courtyard has deemed
your pyramid correct, he will hand you your next clue.
|
"150 feet is a long way," says
Kendra, so the team decides to do the CANNONBALL RUN. Freddy leads
with the cannon while Kendra pushes from behind. Meanwhile, Gus &
Hera show up and decide the CATAPULT CRASH sounds like more fun.
Then... they try it a few times.
A policeman pulls Jonathan & Victoria over. It's not what I
hope it's for, though; they just don't have their lights on.
Jonathan actually talks the cop into leading them to "Egerville"
and the castle. "It's amazing, the things that I can do," he says.
(I'm TRYING not to comment, I really am...)
While others find their way towards Eger in one fashion or
another, Team
Engaged Models get the cannon up to the courtyard and run back to
get the cannonballs. Meanwhile, Team Who's Da Boss try a few more
times in smashing pumpkins - or melons - into the box with zero
success. As such, the models finish their task first and get the
next clue:
It's the married entrepreneurs who finish the DETOUR first and get
their next clue:
ROUTE INFO: |
Head back into Budapest by train
and find the Net Klub Internet Cafe. Go inside and find your
next clue in an e-mail on the (PRODUCT PLACEMENT ALERT!)
Intel Centrino (TM) Wireless laptop notebook computers after
logging onto America Online(TM). |
|
The models depart and catch a cab
to the train station... but the next train into Budapest is an
hour off, so they're certain at least ONE team will catch up. But,
when the train arrives, they are the only ones to get on board.
Now,... remember what Phil said about these Travants? "Notoriously
unreliable", right? Well, that was proven before with the
actors... but at least they could get a new car quickly. But Team
Shrek's car decides to up and die on them on the freeway. But it's
not a total loss, because a local familiar with the car pulls over
and starts it up for them, giving them instructions on how to
prevent this from happening again. Rebecca gets behind the wheel
this time to send them off.
Team Dom-Sub arrives at the DETOUR as Team Who's Da Boss struggle
to get the cannon up. As Jonathan & Victoria bring the cannon UP,
Gus & Hera head DOWN to get the cannonballs... and Lonathan just
HAS to say something about Gus "stealing" their flight tickets to
Budapest. Jonathan ALSO has words for Victoria. Vic says Jonathan
has to "be the man this time"... to which Jonathan, "Be the woman
and shut up." (*bites lips shut with a wince*). As they head down
for the balls, Gus & Hera bring up more than 55 balls and stack
them to stay in 2nd. As they leave, Team Dom-Sub use a tarp to
carry up... 50 balls. (Ut oh...)
Kris & Jon are the next ones to have trouble with Travants.
They're car dies and not even a push-start can get it going. So
they get another car (with "?"s on the side) and get moving.
As expected, Jonathan & Victoria still need 5 more balls... and
Victoria begrudgingly goes down to get them with Jonathan not
saying a word behind him. They finish up in third... and it's
JONATHAN that wears the tarp like a "superman". But it's VICTORIA
that rips the tarp off and tell HIM to move it or lose it! (You
go, girl!) They get to the station and AGAIN confront Team Who's
Da Boss about how they "stole" their tickets. But Gus takes the
high road and doesn't say much as they haul to Budapest.
Meanwhile, Team 'Dating' Actors finishes the CANNONBALL RUN before
Team Restauranteurs even shows up. Hayden & Aaron hop BACK in
their Travant and drive to the train station as Kris & Jon
struggle getting the cannon up in their backpacks. As they stack
the balls, Adam & Rebecca arrive and decide to try the catapult.
It only takes ONE failed attempt - with the melon almost going
straight up and down on top of them - to change their minds. The
long-distance daters finish the DETOUR in fifth and cab it to the
station en route to...
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Team Engaged Models hop off the train and find a cab to
take them to the cafe. As they do, Team Shrek finishes the DETOUR
in sixth.
Meanwhile, on the road to Eger, Team Rasslers' car dies on them,
solidifying their spot in last. They have to wait for a new car to
show up for them to continue.
Freddy & Kendra arrive at the cafe after a relaxing ride through
downtown Budapest. But HERE's a switch for ya: the "hours of
operation" are 10pm to 10am instead of the other way around! There
are still three hours for teams to arrive!
(At about this time, I'm watching the clock. It was getting PRETTY
close to 9pm ET and I started to think that the cafe was actually
the PIT STOP.)
The third train pulls out of Eger station with Team 'Dating'
Actors and Team Restauranteurs on it... and Team Shrek just
entering the station! Adam & Rebecca are angry that they'll have
to wait for the next train.
In Budapest, Team Dom-Sub and Team Who's Da Boss get out of the
train and into cabs. Jonathan, who obviously thinks ANY time a
team passes them that he's in last, all but yells at the driver to
put the pedal to the metal. But the driver doesn't care to race
like Jonathan wants him to. As such, Gus & Hera pass them in a
relaxed state of mind. After a while, the driver has ENOUGH of
Jonathan's prodding and refuses to take them any further. They
quickly board another cab... but Team Who's Da Boss arrives in
second, putting Team Dom-Sub in third.
As Adam & Rebecca wait for the final train out of Eger, Lori &
Bolo wait for their replacement car. As they get to the DETOUR at
night, Kris & Jon and Hayden & Aaron get off the train and hail
cabs. The wrestlers choose - of course - CANNONBALL RUN and finish
it in record time. But, as Team Shrek arrives at the cafe in
sixth, Team Rasslers arrive at the station with bad news: there
are no more trains to Budapest today. They are going to be SO
behind...and they feel they're going to be eliminated.
At 10pm, the doors to the cafe open and the teams file in...while
Lori & Bolo snuggle on a bench at the station, waiting for
morning...or for Phil to come to THEM and say they're eliminated.
And, just when you think that's exactly what'll happen, what do we
see on the TV?
TO BE CONTINUED...
(Huh?! A two-part leg?! WTF?!?!?!?) |