Had Maria & Tiffany managed to hit the gong or the golf balls to stay in the race, I don't think they would have made it past this week's Amazing Race hay bale Roadblock in Sweden.Sam & Dan, Cheyne & Meghan and the Globetrotters all got on the first flight out of Holland. Gary & Matt and Brian & Erica followed about 2 1/2 hours later.
Landing in Stockholm teams had to make their way, by train, to a ferry taking them to Tivoli Grona Land Amusement Park. The Globetrotters had trouble getting their tickets, so they got left behind as the train pulled out.
At the Amusement Park one team member had to ride the Fritt Fall, looking for an arrow pointing towards the next clue as they rose 24 stories up and then plunged back to earth. The clue was easy to spot. It led the teams to a Travelocity Carnival Ring Toss. Upon successfully tossing a ring on the Travelocity cone, the teams learned the next detour.
All teams went with the Nobel Dynamite Detour. This involved building a bunker by filling bags with sand and then blowing up some dynamite that exposed their next clue. The brothers, Sam & Dave quickly figured out it was faster to fill the bags with their hands. The other teams used the provided little shovel. Meghan got a bit whiny when Cheyne would not do the sandbagging her way.
Gary & Matt had all sorts of woes. They also got left behind at the train station, as Brian & Erica pulled away, then got lost after getting their gnome. But they pretty much caught up by the time they got to the sandbagging.
The clue that the dynamiting revealed directed the teams to Bogs Gard Farm, site of one of the most excruciating Roadblocks in Amazing Race history. One team member unrolls bales of hay, searching for a flag. I was appalled when Meghan and Cheyne got to the Roadblock and Cheyne did not immediately say he'd to it. Instead, he stood there, like a weenie, til Meghan said she'd do it.
Dan kept yelling at his brother. Then Sam would yell at Dan to shut up. A few hours in and Dan was exhausted. When the Globetrotters arrived it did not seem to take too long for Big Easy to find a flag and give it to Flight Time as a birthday present, for their first first place finish on the Pitstop mat.
Soon Brian & Erica and Gary & Matt arrived to the increasing frustration of Meghan and Sam. Meghan started crying. Sam & Dan's fighting got worse. Finally Meghan found a flag, and then pretended to be giving up, running off the field and then whipped out the flag to Cheyne's surprise.
Then Brian found the 3rd flag. Sam was getting really unhappy. Gary was working real hard, used to farm work, being from Montana. And then Sam found a flag. Much joy ensued, with Dan breaking down in tears on the mat due to some sort of gestalt realization that he'd been being a jerk to his brother.
And then Gary finally found a flag. Matt was proud of his dad. And they were both very happy to learn this was a non-elimination round. But they will encounter a Speed Bump on the next leg.
In previews we saw Gary befuddled by not knowing what a candelabra was as he walked by a lot of candelabras. And the Globetrotters and Sam & Dan get real physical while running on a boardwalk. The referees may call foul.
