Amazing Race - 11.29.09

Another leg in Prague, looks like!

Meghan & Cheyne are off first, to the Spanish Synagogue.  Brian & Erika are going to have to do a Speed bump before continuing on to the Ekotechnique museum, on the outskirts of town.


Roadblock

One person must enter a Kafka-esque room full of ringing phones, and find the phones that have someone on the other end.  They will hear letters to spell out Franz, which they then have to unscramble.

They can't write anything down, so Meghan made the probably smart decision to say the letters aloud, and associate an animal with them.  She got the letters, and then had to go fill out a form with a lot of very minute questions, set to mess her up and make her forget the letters.  She got it right on her second try, before Sam & Dan even got there.

After the Roadblock, teams headed to Kryocentrum to the next clue.  Meghan & Cheyne tried to take Sam & Dan's cab, who wouldn't go with them, but called them another cab.

Sam (or Dan, I still can't tell them apart) got the letters, but had to go a couple of times to get it right.

At Kryocentrum, teams must strip down to their skivvies and endure 180 below zero for 2 minutes (gloves, mask, and shoes also provided), which is apparently some sort of holistic treatment.

I'll keep my nice Scandinavian Sauna, thanks.

For the Speed Bump, Erika & Brian need to find the M1 Lounge and prepare a shot of absinth according to traditional methods before continuing on.  They then have to drink the absinthe.  Brian doesn't drink at all, so it is a challenge for him.  They did not look like they enjoyed the absinthe at all.

Sam (or Dan) was completely stymied.  The Globetrotter said he got the words "F-R-A-N-Z" but couldn't figure out that was the word they were looking for.  He and Sam (or Dan) worked together.  And failed.  Miserably.  Again and again.

Meghan & Cheyne emerged from the Kryotank and got their next clue, which sent them to the Charles Bridge.

I love the Charles Bridge.  There is a cross in gold on it that you have to touch to make sure you return to Prague, and we touched it with glee.  Can't wait until it brings us back.

Finally, Sam (or Dan) got Franz right, and then refused to tell Big Easy what the word was, only saying it started with an F.  That was a douche move, because they agreed to work together.

Big Easy was still working on it when Brian arrived, shot of absinthe in him and all.


Detour 

Legend - Teams have to cover a wooden golem skeleton with mud and transport it to a synagogue.

Lager - Teams must carry 30 beers from a brewery through the town square and to a bar.

Meghan & Cheyne chose Legend.

Meanwhile, back at the telephones, Big Easy was still working on it when Brian had gotten all his letters and began.  Brian got it really quickly, and left Big Easy in his dust.  So much for the speed bump.  Big Easy decided to take the 4 hour penalty for not finishing the Road Block.  Wow.  I'm thinking, good bye, Globe Trotters.  Unless there is some sort of bottleneck...

Meghan & Cheyne finished their Golem and headed to the synagogue.  The golem was super heavy and they had to cross roads with him.  Meghan got really frustrated at Cheyne for yelling and not letting her help.  She stayed calm and it was actually kind of nice.

Sam & Dan finally arrived at the Detour and also chose Legend.

Erika doesn't like being cold.  She's from Florida and didn't even see snow until she was 21.  Needless to say, she did not enjoy the Kryocentrum.  They survived it, though.

Sam & Dan immediately knocked the arm off their golem.   I really hope that they fail.  They are annoying the crap out of me.

Erika & Brian decided to do Lager.  He used to be a server, so they think it shouldn't be too bad.  They were harassed along the way by revelers.

Meghan & Cheyne are heading to the Pit Stop, Strelecky Ostrov, an island in the river that the Charles Bridge goes over.  They were first.  They won a 52" LCD HD TV each for coming in first.

Sam & Dan asked a cabbie where to find the synagogue, and headed on their way, whining and yelling all the way.  I really can't stand them.

Brian dropped one glass, and then Erika dropped her whole tray, and she decided that she wanted to switch to the other task.  Brian urged her to keep trying.  There were a lot of drunk people walking by them trying to take the beers.  Not good.  They got the first batch of beers to the bar and headed back.  Erika was yelling like crazy at people trying to get the beer off their trays.  I can't say I blame her.

At the synagogue, Sam & Dan's golem got the ok, sadly.  They came in second at the Pit Stop.

Erika & Brian headed to the Pitstop next.  They were so happy to come in third, it was so cute.

The Globe Trotters finished their penalty and got a clue to head to the Pit Stop.  They didn't have to slog through everything else.  They were just done.  I'm sad, because I liked them, but I think they should have kept trying with the letters.  He knew the first letter was F.  How hard could it be to figure that out?  Oh, well.

Next week - Season Finale in Las Vegas!