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In this fifth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams left Budapest and arrived together in Dubrovnik, a seafaring city near the very southern tip of CROATIA 🇭🇷. I looked on an interactive map of Dubrovnik and noticed an island 🏖️ with a pinpoint saying “Qarth – Game of Thrones”. I am familiar with the Game of Thrones but have never watched the HBO series. I had no idea what Qarth is, but I found out it is a fictional setting that is partly inspired by Dubrovnik. Some scenes were filmed in and around Dubrovnik. Please let me know with a comment if you wish to see more GeoFact of the Day posts that are focused on cinema and TV filming locations around the world. If you don't mind, maybe share about your travel experiences 📷 if you ever visited a place featured in the The Amazing Race.
Anyways, teams arrived at a classy statue of a famed Croatian poet, Ivan Gundulić. Teams found the Detour and chose between 1) lugging a heavy fishing net 🐟 and chum bucket for a ½ mile to the Old Port or 2) preparing and filleting one slimy monkfish (grdóbína) each. Whoever named this fish likely noticed the pointy shape — the monkfish somewhat looks like it is wearing a monk’s hood. It is possible that whoever named it did not think very highly of monks since the monkfish is quite ugly and ghastly! 😱 Next, teams made their way through a hard-to-see stone walkway and arrived at the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”: the scenic seaside sojourn known as the Buža Bar watering hole. Here is where teams found the infamous ↪️ Double U-Turn ↩️ board. Eric and Tucker did not use the U-Turn to ensure that teams would not be upset with them. Jag and Jas did not have that thinking when they U-Turned Izzy and Paige. I don’t usually mention middle fingers right here on the GeoFact of the Day Blog, but I will mention that Izzy used both middle fingers to flip off the Jag and Jas photo at the Double U-Turn board. Adam and Joseph used the second U-Turn against Kristine and Rubina.
Teams arrived at the Ploče Gate to take on the frustrating Roadblock challenge mentioned above in the episode info. One member of each team had to assemble a not-so-sturdy scooter board by hand with many types of screws and wooden pieces. Natalie and Simone had the most struggles in assembling the handmade kart. The same team member who assembled the rectangular board with wheels then sat on and raced it with the help of their hands and/or feet for propelling. Chelsie, Izzy, Kristine, and Simone struggled to race the scooter in under 36 seconds. While Natalie took relatively long to create the kart, she steered it quite well — clocking in at about 38 seconds for the first attempt then crossing the finish line in about 35.7 seconds for the second race.
Finally, teams arrived at the Pit Stop known as Fort Bokar, a cylindrical bastion fortification overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Just like the previous episode, Eric and Tucker arrived 1st but each won $2,500 this time. Kyland and Taylor arrived 2nd, followed by Jag and Jas 3rd, Adam and Joseph 4th, Natalie and Stephanie 5th, Chelsie and Jack 6th, Izzy and Paige 7th, Kristine and Rubina 8th, and Hannah and Simone 9th. Host Phil Keoghan told Hannah and Simone that they were eliminated from this season of the The Amazing Race. I am wondering if there will be a non-elimination leg in this season since it hasn’t happened yet. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 29th at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.
In this fourth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams left Prague and boarded one of two train routes that either went through eastern AUSTRIA 🇦🇹 or western SLOVAKIA 🇸🇰 in order to reach Budapest, the national capital of HUNGARY 🇭🇺. Teams arrived at the Széchenyi Thermal Baths to search for a king chess piece. Teams then gave it to locals who were swimming and playing chess on a floating platform in a large pool. After completing this task first, Eric and Tucker encountered a Fast Forward. They decided to complete the Fast Forward and both solved a Rubik’s Cube in less than 7½ seconds after much practice. Kudos to them because I don’t remember if I ever solved a Rubik’s Cube — or maybe I completed it in several days! Due to the Fast Forward, they quickly surpassed the competition and arrived at the Pit Stop: Várkert Bazár (Castle Garden Bazaar), a neo-Renaissance style promenade near the Royal Palace and Danube riverfront in Buda. The historic site was closed in the 1980s and sat neglected until a beautiful restoration in 2014.
For arriving in first place at this Pit Stop, Eric and Tucker won a trip to BOLIVIA 🇧🇴 including stops at the city of La Paz, the largest salt flat in the world (↗) (Uyuni, also known as Tunupa), and Charquini Mountain. Meanwhile, teams carefully steered a carriage with two horses along a figure eight course in less than 45 seconds. Next, teams arrived at the House of Houdini to unlock a chained wooden container — reminiscent of Harry Houdini’s escapist stunts but without the danger. Finally, teams chose either the “Juggling Act” or “Balancing Act” Detour task. For Juggling Act, teams juggled five rings and had to keep them dangling in midair for ten seconds. For Balancing Act, teams practiced and performed a folk dancing routine. One team member balanced a bottle on his or her head, while the other teammate maneuvered a large stick. Kat had trouble completing her routine but nevertheless persisted even though she was the last performer at the Detour. Therefore, Alex and Kat arrived last at the Pit Stop and ended their Amazing Race journey.
The next episode was on Wednesday, October 22nd at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS. The episode 5 recap will be posted in several days.
In this third episode of The Amazing Race, teams started in the 🇨🇿 CZECH REPUBLIC’s national capital (Prague) and went eastward to Kutná Hora. Teams quickly encountered the Driver’s Seat; Natalie and Stephanie was the first team to arrive. Therefore, they decided which teams would be assigned one crate (Hannah/Simone and Izzy/Paige), two crates (Alex/Kat, Kristine/Rubina, Kyland/Taylor, Matt/Megan, and themselves), or three crates (Adam/Joseph, Chelsie/Jack, Eric/Tucker, and Jag/Jas). Teams visited an over 450-year-old Kutná Hora Municipal Brewery to complete the “Tapped Out” task. Teams first had to fill pilsner lager beer bottles — but making sure to let bubbles subside so there would be plenty of liquid in each bottle. After filling, teams placed about a dozen or so bottles in each crate. Rubina sprayed beer onto herself multiple times since the nozzle was tricky to operate. She was able to “laugh it off” despite being kind of drenched! To receive their next clue, teams visited the historic Church of Saint Anne in the village of Nové Dvory northeast of Kutná Hora.
Teams then plowed a field with a ruchadlo for their next clue. The ruchadlo is a traditional Czech plow that was usually pulled by an especially strong animal such as a horse, mule, or ox but this is The Amazing Race, so one team member was in front to pull while the other steered. After being outside on a rather pleasant and sunny day, teams went indoors to a hockey stadium in or near Kutná Hora. A member of each team had to score a goal in hockey. The puck had to be chucked far away from the goal area — and within several small holes in a cardboard cutout covering the whole goal space. Thankfully they were able to play without a vicious hockey team barreling at them, although some hockey players were in the goal area for blocking. Like with the ski bowling in episode 1 (↗), some teams completed this task rather quickly while one team took a lot of tries (24) before scoring.
The referee gave teams a souvenir token depicting a building (↗) known as Zàmek Kačina (Kačina Castle) which is home to a National Agricultural Museum (Národní Zemědělské Muzeum). Natalie and Stephanie arrived at the Kačina Castle Pit Stop second after Jag and Jas, but the brother team graciously gave the first place to Natalie and Stephanie! Natalie was celebrating her birthday the next day, so she and Stephanie won a nice prize to celebrate: $2,500 each. Matt and Megan were the last team to arrive — they ran out of time to complete all challenges — and ended their journey on The Amazing Race with very positive attitudes and completely in love. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 15th (tomorrow) at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.
In the second episode of The Amazing Race (U.S.) Season 38, teams train-travelled from the NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 through GERMANY 🇩🇪 and into the CZECH REPUBLIC 🇨🇿. Several teams got off at the wrong train stop in Berlin. They exited the train at Spandau instead of the Gesundbrunnen stop that they needed. After arriving in Prague, teams quickly proceeded to the Žižkov TV Tower to tackle the height-defying “Who Wants a Breath of Fresh Air?” Roadblock challenge. One member of each team had to carefully walk on a scary, narrow plank over 100 feet above the city below and grab a clue at the plank’s end. They were harnessed for safety, but of course it is still scary to be at that height and having to walk a narrow surface.
Amazing Race did not mention this, though: completed in 1992, the tower was unfortunately and haphazardly placed in a part of a historic Jewish cemetery in Prague. One competitor said something like “oh no, not above the cemetery” because his plank was high above the cemetery directly below. The Žižkov Tower has been ridiculed by residents of Prague for being so modern in a historic section of the grand city. Fun Fact: David Ćerný sculpted multiple crawling baby statues that were attached to the tower. Strangely though, these metal babies have a barcode punched on their faces instead of the usual eyes, mouth, and nose!
The next challenge was the Detour task. In one of the two detours, teams gathered four dozen (48) colorful Bohemian glass goblets — then moved the goblets carefully and gave them to three different vendors. In the other detour, teams found Czech city crests on restaurant chairs and learned the pronunciations of each crest’s respective city. Teams then marveled at a statue of renowned painter Josef Mánes and found their Pit Stop clue. They arrived at Žofín Palace and found host Phil Keoghan waiting for them at the Pit Stop. Jag and Jas arrived first again and therefore received a trip to SRI LANKA 🇱🇰. Angela and Lexi arrived last and were eliminated from the competition. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 8th at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.
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