Recap, Episode 3: Gmunden, Austria
TRAIN TO VIENNA After a mandatory rest period on a ship anchored in the Lagoon harbor in Venice, Italy, air traffic controllers Steve & Dave left the Pit Stop first at 2:45 am. Upon opening their clue, they learned they must travel nearly 300 miles by train to Vienna, Austria and find the intersection that would take them underground through the city's historic sewers. At the train station, the pair asked advice from a local, who suggested taking a train to Padua, Italy and finding an early train to Vienna from there. Steve & Dave took the man's suggestion and departed for Padua before the other Teams left the Pit Stop. "Our only chance of continuing to hang on to what meager lead we have is to get out of here," Steve explained, "Instead of grouping up with nine other cutthroat Teams." At 5:20 am, Reichen & Chip departed the Pit Stop in second place, followed in quick succession by engaged couple Kelly & Jon, friends and models Tian & Jaree, and best friends David & Jeff. The four Teams arrived at the Venice train station to discover that the only direct train to Vienna wouldn't leave for another seven hours. Hoping to find an alternative, Reichen & Chip, accompanied by David & Jeff, asked a local if this 1:15 pm train was the fastest way, and learned of a route through Verona, Italy and Innsbruck, Austria that would arrive in Vienna earlier. At this point, the remaining five Teams Russell & Cindy, circus clowns Jon & Al, dating virgins Millie & Chuck, father and son Steve & Josh and NFL wives and moms Monica & Sheree all arrived at the station. With a growing camaraderie over the past two legs, Reichen & Chip quickly told Monica & Sheree of their discovery. On their bond, Monica remarked, "Sheree and I relate to Reichen & Chip because we're the two minorities. We're the two black girls and they're two gay males." With only minutes to spare, these two Teams, along with David & Jeff, Tian & Jaree and Kelly & Jon, all boarded the 6:54 am train to Verona. While waiting for the train to leave, Tian confronted Jaree about lightening her backpack in an effort to make her faster, saying, "You can't run with ." An irritated Jaree walked away, replying, "I cannot look at you." Meanwhile, in another section of the station, Millie screamed for Chuck's help when she began struggling with an asthma attack. Surrounded by Chuck and clowns Jon & Al, Millie slowly recovered and caught her breath. While Millie's alliance members and friends helped her, the 6:54 am train to Verona departed, carrying the other Teams. Once Millie's attack subsided, the alliance, along with Russell & Cindy, also discovered this alternate route and left on a 7:54 am train to Verona, scheduled to arrive one hour after the first train. With nine Teams already en route to Austria, Steve & Dave encountered difficulties in Padua when they discovered that no trains departed for Vienna from that station. Unaware of the alternate route through Verona and Innsbruck, the pair went back to Venice and waited for the 1:15 train, scheduled to arrive two hours after the first train. Realizing their gamble of traveling to another train station didn't pay off, Dave quipped dejectedly, "I think we just boned ourselves something fierce." Just after nightfall, the first train, carrying Reichen & Chip, David & Jeff, Monica & Sheree, Kelly & Jon and Tian & Jaree, arrived in Vienna. The five Teams walked briskly through the city streets looking for the intersection of the Vienna Sewers. Once there, they were disappointed to discover that the sewers had closed for the day and wouldn't be open until 8:00 the following morning, thereby erasing their lead over the other Teams. FIACRE FIASCO Just before 8:00 the next morning, Steve & Dave got out of their taxi and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "We see other Teams. We're in good shape." All 10 Teams waited until workers lifted the grates, allowing them to descend into the historic sewers. The Teams quickly realized a run through the sewer would be difficult, because there was no lighting and the floors were slippery. Passing Tian & Jaree and Monica & Sheree, Kelly & Jon and Reichen & Chip led the Teams out of the sewers back onto the icy streets of Vienna towards their next Route Marker at the statue of famed Austrian composer Johann Strauss. Arriving there first, Kelly & Jon opened their clue, discovering that they must claim a horse-drawn carriage, known locally as a fiacre, by taking a pass hanging on the carriage door. They must then direct their driver six miles to Schonbrunn Palace, where their next clue waited. The fiacres would depart for the palace in groups of three or four every thirty minutes. Arriving at the fiacre stand first, Kelly & Jon and Reichen & Chip each claimed a fiacre by stepping into the carriage. They were soon followed by Monica & Sheree, who claimed the third and final fiacre in the first group, which would depart at 8:30 am. With the three fiacres claimed, a line began to form at the stand, headed by Tian & Jaree and Jon & Al. Before the fiacres departed for the palace, Jon & Al reread the directions in the clue. Al told Jon, "You have to grab the pass off the coach to claim it." At the same moment, the clowns noticed that Reichen & Chip hadn't taken the pass from their carriage door as indicated in the directions. Swiftly, Jon grabbed the ticket, held it up, and claimed the fiacre. A stunned Reichen & Chip immediately protested, but acquiesced, leaving the carriage. Sensing a golden opportunity, Tian ran to the other carriages and discovered that Kelly & Jon had also failed to pull their pass off the door. Tian grabbed the pass and kicked a frustrated Kelly & Jon from the fiacre. Leaving the carriage, Jon quipped to Tian, "It's alright, because you guys are going to self-destruct today or tomorrow." Once Jon & Al, Tian & Jaree and Monica & Sheree departed for Schonbrunn Palace in the first set of fiacres, the other seven Teams waited half an hour for the second set. Reichen & Chip and Millie & Chuck paid closer attention to their clue and realized that once the carriage came into view, the pass could be taken. No waiting in line was needed. It was now every Team for themselves. Reichen & Chip promised their alliance partners David & Jeff that they would try to grab a fiacre for them as well, while David & Jeff took the responsibility to distract the other Teams. A concerned Jon told Kelly not getting one of these fiacres would put them another half hour behind. Just before 9:00 am, the second set of fiacres turned the corner, and the race was on. Millie & Chuck, Reichen & Chip, Jon (of Kelly & Jon) and Russell all raced to snatch a pass from one of the three carriages. Chuck ran by the first fiacre to claim the pass on the second one. Millie and Chip each overran the first fiacre, then doubled back to grab the pass. To ensure he would get the pass, Chip used his strength and size to push a competitive Millie away while he claimed the fiacre. With Teams focused on the first two carriages, Jon easily claimed the lagging third one for himself and Kelly. A furious Millie stepped into her fiacre, remarking on Chip, "God, he's a jerk!" Meanwhile, Chip had to explain to an equally irritated David & Jeff why he didn't get a pass for them as promised. Chip apologized, adding, "If there were three cars, Reichen would have grabbed the next one." On their alliance with Reichen & Chip, Jeff commented, "We're going to take information from them is what we're going to do at this point, because we've given up a lot to them. So we're going to see some reciprocation, but it's not going to be an 'alliance.'" Then Chip walked to Millie & Chuck's fiacre to discuss what had just occurred. When Chip showed Millie his cut lip, she asked, "Did I do that?" Chip wanted her to know the cut wasn't her fault, but Millie replied, "You started the manhandling crap. I did not want to hurt you, but you touched me first." A MUSICAL DETOUR While the drama unfolded at the carriage stand, Tian & Jaree arrived at the Schonbrunn Palace in first place and found their next clue, a Detour. In this Detour, Teams had to choose either "Mozart" or "Beethoven." Teams choosing Mozart were to carry a string bass six miles to the house where Mozart wrote "The Marriage of Figaro." Finding the well-known house should be simple, but lugging a bass fiddle across town could prove exhausting. Teams opting for Beethoven had to carry a portfolio of sheet music 11 miles to the house where Beethoven wrote "The Heiligenstadt Testaments." While not a physically demanding task, in a city where Beethoven occupied at least five homes, finding this less-known one could take some time. Feeling confident in their lead, Tian & Jaree decided to work together with Monica & Sheree, calling it "girl power," as the two Teams opted to carry the bass fiddles across town. Following closely behind, clowns Jon & Al also chose Mozart. After asking a few locals, all three Teams got the directions they needed to Mozart's house. Within half an hour, the second group of fiacres arrived at the palace. While Millie & Chuck and Reichen & Chip both opted for Mozart, Kelly & Jon chose Beethoven, because Kelly thought it would be easier. The pair soon encountered problems when several locals weren't familiar with the house they needed. When Jon wondered aloud if there were several houses where Beethoven wrote music, Kelly responded, "Are you retarded? How many Beethovens in the world do you think there are?" While Kelly & Jon struggled, David & Jeff and Russell & Cindy also decided to join forces in the quest for Mozart's house. Finally, firmly in last place, Steve & Dave also opted for the Mozart Detour. Arriving at the palace second to last, father and son Steve & Josh decided to try the Fast Forward. This Fast Forward required Teams to search the palace grounds for a ballroom containing dozens of waltzing couples. They would then have to don formal attire and each carry a tray of champagne-filled glasses across the dance floor full of swirling couples without dropping any glasses. Lifting the tray off the table, Steve instantly knocked over all the glasses and started again. Josh at least managed to carry his first tray onto the dance floor, but quickly spilled as well. Realizing that patience and steadiness was the key, Steve successfully carried his second tray across the floor. Josh, taking his father's advice, walked slowly and eventually set his tray on the table across the floor and received the Fast Forward envelope. An elated Josh ripped open the clue, discovering they needed to travel by train to the next Pit Stop, the Seeschloss Orth, a 400-year-old castle in the lake district of Austria. While the gigantic bass proved cumbersome to lug around town, girl power reigned as Tian & Jaree and Monica & Sheree reached Mozart's house first. Opening the clue, the four learned they must travel across town to the Donaturm, an 1150-foot spire overlooking the River Danube, to find the next Route Marker. Soon Millie & Chuck, Jon & Al and Reichen & Chip all completed the Mozart Detour as well and headed to the Donaturm. After having some difficulties in even finding the correct Beethoven house, engaged couple Jon & Kelly finally found an elderly woman who directed them straight to the house. JUMP! At the Donaturm, Monica & Sheree and Tian & Jaree opened their next clue to find a Roadblock. This Roadblock required one Team member to take a 460-foot bungee jump off the Donaturm, the tallest tower-jump in Europe. A fearless Tian led the way, saying this was her "cup of tea." After the jump, she called it "thrilling and amazing." The less excited Sheree bravely walked to the edge and took the leap for her Team. Once completing the Roadblock, the women learned they must travel 185 miles by train to Gmunden and make their way to Seeschloss Orth, the third Pit Stop. After Reichen and circus clown Jon each took their bungee jump, Millie experienced another small asthma attack, needing some water before she continued. Exhibiting the determination that has kept her Team going, Millie then successfully took the plunge. She was soon followed by Jon (of Kelly & Jon) and David, leaving only Russell & Cindy and Steve & Dave to jump. After Russell completed the Roadblock and headed to the train station with Cindy, Steve stood atop the tower and realized they were the ninth Team, knowing that the tenth took the Fast Forward. He remarked, "We went from first to worst. There's just no way I can keep up with these guys." THE WRONG STATION With the other Teams already on trains bound for Gmunden, Steve & Dave and Russell & Cindy raced to the Vienna train station to avoid elimination. Unfortunately, Steve & Dave had received incorrect information, which was to go to the Vienna North Station. Meanwhile, at the Vienna East Station, Russell & Cindy unwittingly bought tickets to Gmund, not Gmunden. Both Teams were unaware that trains to Gmunden departed only from the Vienna West Station. While these Teams were still in Vienna, father and son Steve & Josh arrived at the Seeschloss Orth in first place. With the wrong tickets in hand, Russell & Cindy relaxed in the Vienna East Station. At Vienna North, Steve & Dave tried to purchase tickets and were told to go to the Vienna West Station. While the pair boarded the subway to Vienna West, Russell & Cindy discovered their mistake and also headed to the same station on a tram. "One guy's error thinking we were going to Gmund could cost us the game," Russell commented, "But I think we're going to be okay." While the two Teams tried to correct their mistakes, Monica & Sheree, Reichen & Chip and Tian & Jaree finished second, third, and fourth, respectively. On the train ride to Gmunden, air traffic controller Steve remarked, "It's kind of hard to feel optimistic right now, knowing full well that all nine Teams are in front of us. We're not completely giving up, but we're prepared for the worst." On their current standing, Cindy tentatively remarked, "We're bumming right now." As the two Teams sweated out the ride, Millie & Chuck, Jon & Al, David & Jeff and Kelly & Jon finished fifth through eighth, respectively. ELIMINATION As the next train stopped in Gmunden, the air traffic controllers prevailed as Phil told the stunned pair they were the ninth Team to arrive. With newfound determination, Dave affirmed, "Steve and I do want to win, and I think we can." In the end, Russell & Cindy's train arrived in Gmunden last, and when they arrived at Seeschloss Orth, Phil told them they had been eliminated. On his experience, Russell said, "We had an amazing time. I'm a competitive person. I love being that way, and I hate losing." On her relationship with Russell, Cindy commented, "I had felt a little lack of loyalty in working together, just for a couple of days, but those couple of days were detrimental. When the chips are down, I got to see that you're right there. If you're not, then that's going to affect how I feel." Ultimately, Russell summed it up, saying, "It's disappointing and it's a letdown, but you know what? It's great." FATHER & SON WALTZ INTO FIRST AS RUSSELL & CINDY ARE ELIMINATED With tension growing after married couple Reichen & Chip's standoff at the Venice train station in the previous leg, THE AMAZING RACE moved to Vienna, Austria, where tempers flared as Teams battled for the lead at the city's historic and cultural landmarks. Chip squared off against Millie in a footrace to claim a carriage. Chip won the battle, but received a bloody lip in the process. Concerned at being near the bottom of the pack, father and son Steve & Josh won the Fast Forward, earning them a first-place finish. Dating friends Russell & Cindy made a crucial mistake by going to the wrong train station. By the time they realized their mistake and departed for the Pit Stop from the correct station, it was too late, and Russell & Cindy became the third Team to be eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race4/show/episode03/ar4story01.shtml