No one has posted about last night’s episode so FOR NOW, I can post about last week’s episode which I just watched last night. I was also sorry to see the brothers go - they were cool and endearing. They took the loss in stride.
I really can’t stand Anna Leigh. I don’t like the way she talks to her dad and I don’t like her attitude. Questioning the other teams about who voted for them - let it go girl, you’re doing fine and will survive!
Some of the physical challenges are quite physical this season. Exhausting.
I was bouncing between TAR, the GOP debate and the CMAs so I wasn’t paying close attention. The challenges seemed mostly weak, though people driving themselves always ups the drama.
They all seemed surprised that the pit stop wasn’t after the locks.
I couldn’t tell how long the mustard challenge took. It seemed like it would take a long time, yet teams showed up back to back at the mat. Were some teams tasting the mustard and others memorizing based on appearance?
The soccer challenge was probably more difficult than the mustard. Rob and Corey looked pretty skilled and they showed up at the same time as the team they left the lock challenge with. Speaking of the lock challenge, kudos to Ashlie for helping Rob.
Andrea & Malaina
Edit to add: Although I don’t care for them, Chelsea’s approach to the coin challenge was smart.
Really? I thought the challenges were hard enough to separate the teams. The pay for the castle thing wasn’t good but it did require the teams to take the right ferry.
The dad and son team do a good job of dealing with the dad’s deafness, developing a system of navigating from the back seat. The mustard challenge would have been hard because the son would have had to pronounce all the mustards. They are my favs.
One doesn’t get to appreciate the distances they sometimes are travelling.
It was probably close to 2 hours from FRA to the ferry (mostly busy country roads), and almost the same time to Cologne (although that is mostly an Autobahn, assuming they figured out the optimal route on a paper map) - not counting the crossing and the actual challenge.
Navigating the inner city of Cologne without today’s computer assistance, presents yet another challenge.
As far as the Dad sitting in the rear and complaining that he can’t help with navigating - I can’t quite fathom that. After all, everyone else did - even when the driver in the other team couldn’t even HEAR the directions from the rear. (That part had me freaked out, how the driver had to keep referring to the rear view mirror to attempt to communicate with the back-seat navigator while cruising on German highways.)
Loved the massive amount of love locks on the Hohenzollern-Bridge - and that they were allowing them to remain. It essentially now has become an art installation.
Personally, I would have been tempted to take a 20 minute penalty for not finishing the mustard, and instead sneaked into that Chocolate Museum.
Agree about Ashlie. When Rob went off to do the challenge, my first thought was that he could run into a problem with this challenge as a result of his being deaf. I was hoping TAR would have an ASL translator for him at the challenge but thankfully Ashlie graciously helped out.
I think for Rob they should let his son go with him on the solo challenges and ONLY allow son to interpret. It’s not like they don’t have a camera on them all the time. Like ROB would have to say 'I’ll ask someone with the cell phone. I’m asking what is the Cologne from Cologne… and son would have to translate exactly that or only ask to use the phone.
The challenges were quite linear. The soccer one seemed incredibly hard having to get exactly 66 points. It definitely seemed like it took longer than the mustard challenge. I thought that would have been harder, but seems like most teams got it quickly. I guess there weren’t that many to choose from.
Was sorry to the see the Philly girls go. Great friends and good racing. Tough day for them to not even get to finish.
It’s potentially a piece of cake if you’ve played soccer. Kick 3 balls and have them land wherever. It’s only the 4th ball that you need to aim with accuracy. Plus simple subtraction skills.
But it seemed that you only got ONE try to get the 4th ball right - then you’d have to start all over, and this time the forth would be in a different spot. So no chance to “hone in” on ONE spot and just keep trying until it happens.
I don’t think I would have ever been able to aim the ball correctly - I was thoroughly impressed.
Not only was Rob looking in the rear view mirror while driving he was holding the paper with directions on the steering wheel and looking at it also. (Like people do with phones. ) The camera operators must have nerves of steel.
I didn’t like Chelsea and Robbin following the brothers and I didn’t like the way Chelsea did the money. I know both are allowed but it makes me hope they go next.
I was sorry but not surprised to see the Out of Towners go. When they mess up, they don’t recover quickly like some teams do.
I thought the carnival was a little weird. Wouldn’t something like that be outside? And they kept showing that same woman being awkwardly flipped in various directions. I wonder if it was a last minute replacement for something else.
Oh yes - imagine many tens of thousands of people lining the streets of Cologne, Mainz, etc. with politically, satirical, explicit, and other themed floats going by - along with marching bands, dancers, etc.
But they can’t stage that for Amazing Race, and if Amazing Race was in town that day, they couldn’t possibly try to plan anything involving it. During those days the “fools and jesters” are genuinely in charge (there is an actual “Karneval” king and queen, and their court) and you just go with the flow – or you just don’t go.
It dates back to a long tradition of one day each year the common man “roasting” those in power, electing their own pompous nobles, and actually getting away with that (before there was any concept of freedom of speech), because it was disguised as fools and jesters just having “good fun”.
there are two parts to the Cologne carnival season an indoor and and outdoor one and this challenge was an odd mashup of both. DigitalDad described the outdoor part well, which is the culmination of carnival on rose monday, the Monday before Ash Wednesday. But carnival season starts in November, 11/11 at 11:11 o’clock. During the winter there are lots of indoor events and they include the dancing guards, satirical speeches, comedy, parties. The Guerzenich, the venue they went to this week, is known for their carnival events.
Probably more than anybody ever wanted to know. But I moved from the Cologne area to the New Orleans area, from one Carnival hub to another (and I’m really not that into it ) But it’s fun to see TAR go to your old stomping grounds.
) But it’s fun to see TAR go to your old stomping grounds.