With the old kids on the block eliminated in the last leg we have 8 teams left in Bangkok and Bergen & Kurt, who arrived first to the Pit Stop, are the first to leave at 3:03 pm and are on their way to Munich, Germany.
Once teams arrive in Germany they need to make their way to a clothing shop and pick out the appropriate clothing to attend Oktoberfest. Steve & Aly actually met in Munich so they may have an advantage, but everyone is on the same 13 hour flight and starting on a level playing field. I love Munich, it's a great place to visit and enjoy a reasonable sized beer but I've never taken in Oktoberfest.
Upon arriving in Munich it doesn't take much for all the teams to find the correct clothing shop and grab the right attire. The girls all look great in their dirndls and the men look pretty snappy in those lederhosen. Now they need to find the correct church tower (the Alter Piter tower) to find their marked cars.
Easy enough but after locating the marked cars Laura & Tyler decide to switch to the front car and forgot their fanny pack in the backseat when they switched. That's definitely going to slow them down, while Jeff & Jackie can't seem to translate their overhead directions to street level.
Jeff & Jackie are also having some personal issues as Jackie feels that Jeff is disrespecting her, but they did find the car with the missing back pack. They know it's Laura & Tyler's pack but can't figure out where Laura & Tyler are. Whether or not they'll return the pack is anyone's guess. At least they don't leave it behind.
Why do people still have so much trouble driving stick. If you're going to apply for Amazing Race, in any of its incarnations, the first thing you should do is learn to drive a stick. What is wrong with these people? It happens in every version in every season.
Steve & Aly are the first to the clue and must drive in reverse through a winter wonderland inside a warehouse to find the next clue. They back into the warehouse and start backing through the course. They find "SCH" on the first sign, then "LI" on another, then "ER" and finally "SEE". The answer to the next clue is "Schliersee". Laura & Tyler arrive next and notice they're missing their fanny pack, but decide to continue the task and hope to retrieve it afterwards.
Kurt & Bergen are so bad on stick that they pull over and give up. Neither one of them can apparently drive and they're going so slowly they may as well already be in reverse. They have decided to just sit on a side street and enjoy the scenery I guess.
Aly & Steve get to Schliersee and need to row out to get their next clue which leads to the Detour: Stein or Stack. In Stein they need to learn how to deliver 22 steins of beer like a german Oktoberfest waitress through a crowded beer hall to a table on the far side; in Stack they need to stack 15 empty crates. The actual record for this is 48. That's a lot of crates. Wayne and I would obviously pick Stein, especially if we could take a stein of beer along with us afterwards. Assuming we don't drink half of them on the way through the beer hall. Now that's a proper size beer.
Laura & Tyler decide to wait after completing their tour through the winter wonderland to find their pack. They figure one of the next cars will have it and it makes a lot more sense than going back. Now all they have to do is wait for one of the blue cars to arrive. Steve & Aly meanwhile have moved on and deliver their steins in no time, completing the Detour and off to their next clue.
Bergen and Kurt really did give up on their car and took a cab to the warehouse but now they may need to go back in order to complete the task. It's either that, or take the penalty. Well, since neither one of them can drive worth a damn guess what they decide to do? They take the penalty. Laura & Tyler just hope they didn't give up in a blue car.
When Hayley & Blair arrive they notice Tyler & Laura just waiting by their car and Blair asks what's up. Tyler says they're just hanging for a bit and Hayley starts yelling at Blair to get a move on. Tyler's much happier waiting with Laura than he could ever be if he were stuck in a car with Hayley. So are the rest of us.
Steve & Aly arrive at the Roadblock, Aly decides to do the Roadblock and needs to memorize a German tune and then serenade Steve with it. If she does it correctly they'll receive their next clue, if not there's a penalty. Meanwhile, Hayley & Blair arrive at the Detour and choose Stein.
Jeff & Jackie arrive at the warehouse and Tyler asks Jeff if they've seen the fanny pack. Jeff says he didn't see anything but as Jeff & Jackie run to get the clue, Laura & Tyler retrieve their pack from the back of Jeff's blue car, despite Jeff trying to hide it under the seat. Inside the warehouse Jeff & Jackie encounter Kurt & Bergen waiting out their penalty. It's gonna be a long wait.
At the Roadblock Aly starts serenading Steve but messes up near the end and they dump a bucket of water on her. That was unexpected but come on, how hard can this be? She's holding the lyrics. Back at the Detour Hayley dumps her steins, breaking glass and wasting beer and they need to start again.
Aly tries again and this time she nails it. Steve & Aly are off to the Pit Stop. Once again this has been a fast paced and rather quick episode with fairly easy tasks. Im obviously not the only one complaining about this but you'd think production would have noticed it by now.
Jeff & Jackie and Jelani & Jenny decide to try Stack as Matt & Ashley deliver their steins and move into second place. Now Hayley decides to tear into Blair again despite his trying to help in her attempt to carry more steins. It's not his fault she can't carry more than two beer at a time. No surprise they decide to switch.
Aly & Steve are Team Number 1 and have each won a 2015 Ford Focus just like the one they've been driving. Now that's a lot better than a Date Night or a trip somewhere. Over at the Roadblock it's Laura's turn to sing and she gets the bucket of water on her first attempt.
Jeff & Jackie have called a truce and are ready to stack their crates, as are Laura & Tyler, Jelani & Jenny, and now Hayley & Blair. The tough part to this side of the Detour is you have to climb the crates as you stack. Well, they do . . . I could almost reach the top ones from the ground.
I think Mike & Rochelle have managed to get lost in Bavaria. Laura gets the tune on her second attempt and avoids the bucket, while Matt & Ashley hit the Pit Stop and are now Team Number 2. Blair had managed to get all 15 crates but lost his balance putting the last one in place and had to start again.
Mike & Rochelle finally find the winter wonderland and encounter Kurt & Bergen who still have almost an hour left in their penalty. Good thing for Mike & Rochelle, not so much for Bergen & Kurt. Meanwhile, Jackie completes her stack, then Jenny does the same, followed closely by Blair. Kurt & Bergen finally complete their penalty, long after Mike & Rochelle have left, and must now drive themselves to Schliersee in a car they don't have.
Jackie gets the water bucket and she's not amused. Mike & Rochelle choose Stein at the Detour (at least I'm pretty sure they did) while Jenny gets the bucket, followed closely by Laura.
Jackie nails it, then Jenny nails it, Blair is the first guy to attempt the song and he nails it on his first try. Kurt & Bergen eventually took a train to the Schliersee and then began walking in search of their next clue. Surprisingly they didn't get passed by Mike & Rochelle who had decided to switch sides (that or ended up at the wrong side . . . who wrote these notes?).
Jeff & Jackie are Team Number 3, Jelani & Jenny are Team Number 4, and Hayley & Blair are Team Number 5. Blair admits that there are times that he just wants to run away from his race partner but he made the commitment and he's sticking to it. Gotta give the guy kudos for that.
Laura & Tyler are Team Number 6 as Mike struggles with the climb up the crates. Mike is not the right guy to have climbing those crates. They switch climbers and now Rochelle struggles with her fear of heights, but she did it, . . . long before Kurt & Bergen even arrive at the Detour.
At the Roadblock Mike is the second guy to attempt the song and he did great. They arrive at the Pit Stop and are Team Number 7.
Kurt & Bergen, having been incapable of even finding the clue to the Detour, have given up and have returned to the train station where Phil eventually finds them and informs them that this was an elimination leg and they have been eliminated from the race. Bergen thinks Kurt gave up when he didn't find love on the race and has been trying to quit ever since.
Next week teams head to Monaco, dress to the nines, and do a little high wire work. Maybe they'll even rob a casino in a James Bond related task. Whatever awaits I'll be here to give my review of the episode. Be sure and check out Wayne's review before you leave. If you're following my Survivor and Big Brother Canada reviews I'll be here sooner, otherwise I'll be here next week. Until that time.