Amazing Race 14: Recap 1, Swiss cheese is heavy

by Jamie Rhein on

When the teams took off for Switzerland from the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, California after the Marine helicopter ride that took them there, you could feel the buoyancy and hear their glee. No matter the season, every team has a real can-do attitude at the beginning of the Amazing Race. Amazing Race 14 was no different. And just like every other season, some teams began to fall apart not long after they landed.

Jennifer and Preston missed their connecting train. She got crabby and he crabbed back. Later in the episode, Steve chastised Linda for being slow as they hoofed it to the Church of San Antonio in Locarno to meet up with a monk. Her slowness put them behind most of the other teams. Steve only made her weepier. As Linda pointed out, she would have gone faster if she could have. “I can’t run and I feel bad about it,” she sniffled. Good point. Who goes on the Amazing Race trying to be pokey?

When people are crabby and chastising when they travel, they miss the details. In Switzerland, one detail comes in snow-capped mountains, so gorgeous they can make you cry. Brad, choked up, for example, as he and Victoria sped through them on the train. It might of been the mountains, or maybe he was tired. Other details of Swiss travel had to do with bungee jumping and cheese.

First the bungee jumping. After a night of camping, fending off mosquitos, the teams headed a short distance from Locarno to Contra Verzasca Dam where James Bond made his bungee jumping leap in the movie Goldeneye. In nerves of steel daring, one team member from each team made the Bond jump, minus the music, in order to receive their next clue.

This is not just an Amazing Race opportunity. You can make the 220 meter, 70-story, jump yourself through the company Trekking Outdoor Team. It seriously looks like a blast for a person not afraid of heights. Interestingly, the person most afraid of heights was Jodi, one of the flight attendants. As we knew all along, even a person afraid of heights would be able to make the leap for the chance for a million dollars.

When the jumping was over, it was off via train to Interlaken and Kleine Rugen Wiese, a place with a slippery, grass covered hill and wheels of cheese at the top of it. Teams had to grab antique cheese racks, trudge to the top of the hill, one rack per member, to carry cheese–great big wheels of it that can bound and roll down a hill like nobody’s business when dropped–to the bottom using the racks in some way. What a hoot.

The antique racks looked rigged since almost everyone of them snapped like kindling wood. Making the task more difficult was avoiding getting bowled over by the escaped flying cheese, and the people chasing after it. To get a 50-pound cheese wheel down a hill, you can hold it in front of you in both arms, sit with it on your lap and scoot, put one wheel on each shoulder, or do a combination of all three. If you’re really smart, you’ll stack three cheese wheels on the rack and drag it down the hill like Steve did.

While the teams acted out this Abott and Costello-like scene, Swiss men stood at the bottom of the hill swigging some sort of beverage and laughing. Eventually, all cheese was stacked properly, and the teams were off once more to find yodelers at the pit stop in the town of Stechelberg. For a little while I thought that Steve and Linda, who call themselves endearments like “dumb asses” when frustrated, wouldn’t find the yoderlers, but eventually they came out of the woods where they had headed to land a 9th place finish.

The first place finishers were mother and son team, Margie and Luke. Both of them started to cry. So did 2nd place finishers, Tammy and Victor–even Phil looked teary. Tammy and Victor weren’t feeling emotional because they came in second by a hair–thus missed out on that swell trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I think it was because the finish was so awesome indeed. Luke is deaf.

As Luke said, “A lot of people think deaf people can’t do things, but the deaf can do it. I just want to show people that deaf people can do it.” I’d say Victor and Tammy will get their share of first place prizes.

In a neck and neck finish, Christie and Jodi reached the Pit Stop mat before Jennifer and Preston. Although they were thrilled to stay in the race, the flight attendants did give the loosing team hugs, proving that flight attendants are indeed friendly. Preston promised Jennifer she did not let him down. Hey, they get to hang out for a couple weeks at some swank villa somewhere at the Elimination Station if this season is like the others. That’s not a bad deal.

The moral of this episode is, before you go on the Amazing Race, go to a train station. Jennifer had never been to one before. I think traveling at a break neck speed in unfamiliar territory is not the best place for a first time.

Where everyone has ended up so far:

  • 1st -Margie and Luke
  • 2nd -Tammy and Victor
  • 3rd – Mark and Michael
  • 4th – Mel and Mike
  • 5th – Amanda and Kris
  • 6th – Brad and Victoria
  • 7th – Cara and Jaime
  • 8th – Kisha and Jen
  • 9th – Linda and Steve
  • 10th – Christie and Jodi
  • 11th – Preston and Jennifer (Eliminated)

For a more detailed recap, check out the Amazing Race 14 website.

Amazing Race 14 starts tonight

by Jamie Rhein on

What already? Wasn’t it last week when my least favorite team Starr and Nick dashed across the finish line to win the million dollars? Nope. The end of Amazing Race 13 was in December. Tonight, Amazing Race 14 begins on CBS at 8:00 EST.

From a quick glance, I have two reasons to tune in:

One couple, married duo Brad and Victoria are from Columbus, Ohio. According to their bio, their motto is, “life is not a spectator sport and therefore you should always enjoy each moment that life gives you.” Each of them have overcome personal challenges. I’ll have to see how much I like them based on tonight’s episode. Regardless of them being from the city I live in, I’ve never met them. I’ve never seen them before in my life.

The other pair, Cara and Jaime caught my attention because of one of their names. The spelling is different. From reading Jaime’s bio, I’d say the spelling isn’t all that’s different. For one, the other Jaime used to be a cheerleader and I’ve never been able to touch my toes. These two are from Florida, and seem like lovely people, both inside and out. I give them a thumbs up so far.

The other nine teams are made up of an assortment of married, friends, siblings, parent/son and dating pairs.

  • Amanda and Kris are a young dating couple. I’m interested in Kris’s reactions to the world since he has not had the chance to travel much.
  • Christie and Jodi are flight attendant friends who met on the job. I wonder if they tune into Galley Gossip? If not, they should. With their combined travel savvy, I’d say these two are formidable contenders.
  • Preston and Jennifer, another dating couple, are from Columbia, S.C., a city where I lived for two years as a kid. What will make them a fun pair to watch (or possibly highly annoying) is their quest to see if they should break-up or stay together. They haven’t made up their minds yet. Who is ready for some bickering footage?
  • LaKisha and Jennifer, from their descriptions these two sisters from Brooklyn should provide some interesting TV. They haven’t traveled much outside the U.S. and have very different personalities.
  • Linda and Steve might be my favorite so far. From Martinsville, Virginia, they’ve traveled extensively and seem to be a non-traditional married couple who have found out how to live a good life.
  • Margie and Luke are a mother/son pair from Denver, Colorado who could also be my favorites to win. Luke is deaf and communicates with American Sign Language. I have a deaf brother-in-law and sister-in-law. What a great addition these two are to the line-up.
  • Mark and Michael are two brothers who are from Hawaii and California. Their backgrounds make them interesting contenders as well. Both of them are stunt men and one works as a jockey and the other has acting gigs. Because they are using the Amazing Race to work on their relationship, I expect some footage analyzing what makes brothers click or not click.
  • Mel and Mike are father and son with an atypical family history. Mel is gay. That’s not the atypical part. This should be an interesting team to watch.
  • Tammy and Victor are another sibling pair who are a cross between TK and Rachel and Starr and Nick. She’s the laid back one. He sounds like Nick. Both are lawyers with great smiles. He looks nicer than he sounds.

Let’s see how these teams do and how accurate their bios are. Personally, I like the mix of ages and that none of the teams sound particularly full of themselves. Hopefully, this season will do a great job of highlighting the countries where the teams headed. That’s my favorite part.

Here’s a link the preview video of Episode 1. My favorite line so far is “No use standing here looking like dumb asses.” (Or something like that). The first destination country is Switzerland. Cheese and bungee jumping are involved.

Too cheap for a hotel? How about a wine barrel?

by Scott Carmichael on

We’ve covered weird and wacky hotels here on Gadling, but this is the first wine barrel bedroom I’ve come across.

The “room” is one of several converted wine barrels at the Madulain camping site in the mountain village of Madulain in Switzerland.

Each room comes with electric heating, 2 beds, a gas stove and some basic blankets, but you’ll have to bring your own sleeping bag.

Rooms are just $15 a night, and the best part is that the village is just a couple of miles away from St Moritz and Davos, so you’ll have plenty to see and do.

More weird hotels:

Want to hike in the nude? Don’t go to Switzerland. It’s now a no no.

by Jamie Rhein on

In Switzerland shedding clothes and hitting the trail used to be fine and dandy. Nude hiking was allowed. Not any more. That fun has ended. In a move to protect children from seeing those body parts usually located in places where the sun doesn’t shine, the Swiss government has made a law, at least in the Appenzell Innerrhoden canton, that nude hiking isn’t allowed.

It sounds like this was a rush job, according to our pals over at Jaunted. From what I read, the Swiss rushed this law through before hiking season starts this year. Nude German hikers, in particular, have had a growing fondness for hiking in this pastoral region in nothing but a pair of good hiking boots. I can just picture the vote.

“Quick, quick, quick, the Germans are coming!” Germans have a history of nudism that dates way back when. There will be some pretty disappointed Germans with this year’s spring thaw, if they’re looking to go to Switzerland for unencumbered exercise.

There was a well known nudist who lived in Albuquerque when I lived there. He used to walk around town in skimpy shorts, slung low, or a Speedo bathing suit. The suit probably wasn’t his preference, but it kept him out of trouble. Maybe someone in Switzerland who wants to make some extra cash could set up a Speedo stand, or sell towels near hiking trails. Sarongs also work nicely in a pinch.

Indulge in Romance at Badrutt’s Palace

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Skip out on the usual box of candy and fistful of roses plopped on the kitchen table and do something interesting for a change. This year, kick around a seven-night ski trip to Badrutt’s Palace in St. Moritz for Valentine’s Day. Doesn’t Switzerland sound better than another dinner at your local favorite restaurant?

A four-course dinner, by candlelight, at Le Restaurant, completes the experience. Executive Chef Frédéric Breuil’s Valentine’s Day menu includes warm goose liver with braised cabbage, winter vegetables and sherry sauce, truffled salsify soup with ravioli, grilled chicken breast with prawns and basmati rice and leeks. The experience ends with heart-shaped chocolates filled with raspberries and raspberry sauce.

Dinner is priced at approximately $160 per person (not including liquor), and the seven nights on the slopes will set you back $5,600. If you need to come up with a quick idea, and money’s no problem, here it is. You have two weeks … pull the trigger.