It's sad that the two teams that seemed to be genuinely getting something from the whole travel/cultural experience (the older couple and Gus/Herra) are gone and we're left with these generic, bland, look-alike, act-alike, sound-alike couples that aren't remotely interesting (save for the wrestlers).

I used to think of this program as a combination of road rally and scavenger hunt. The locations were great to see and I liked seeing places we'd been before in a different light. So far, this new version has been a downer - agree the nicest teams have been eliminated and now we have a homogenized group of plastic barbie and ken dolls left, each with their own disgusting quirks. Being water polo fans, we'd hoped for a little more 'action' in that segment but either it was heavily edited or the goalie wasn't trying hard. Oh well - hope springs eternal that this won't degenerate further.

lyb: Had to laugh about your comments on Hawaii. I was on a board of directors with a terrific guy from Hawaii. Since I'm a Californian, he and I used to take great pleasure in poking the easterners about geography! He always referred to Hawaii and California as the Colonies!

I too would never open a TAR thread on Tuesday before I watched the episode for obvious reasons.

It just keeps getting "worser and worser" and I am so disappointed. Loved this show but it is going downhill fast.

It was wonderful to see the shots of Budapest. We absolutely loved it when we visited last year. It was incredibly annoying to see these clods going back and forth over the Chain Bridge and to the Fisherman's Bastion and not even appreciating it!

Guess I'll ride it out to the bitter end, but would have been a lot happier if Victoria's soup challenge would have put them in last place. It's almost more than you can tolerate with those two, and just when you think you've seen it all, it gets even worse!

Another one of the "good guys" gone last night. I hate it when I can't find one team left in contention to root for - and it's quickly getting to that point.

As for Jonathan, I found it highly amusing when he called Victoria (while puking her guts out) a drama queen. And his lame "I should have done it, but I know how much you like food." What a repulsive excuse for a human being.

I live in Hawaii - and yes, I have to stay away from any thread/website regarding AR from the late afternoon on. However, if there was some way to selectively find out when Jonathan was eliminated, knowing beforehand and watching the episode while giggling with glee at every idiot comment he made (knowing the axe was coming)- that would be fun.

I agree, Budapest looked so beautiful! I just wish the cameramen would hold the camera still and stay focused on one thing for longer than 2 seconds. Neither my husband nor my two daughters can stand watching this show because the camera jerking around makes them nauseated.

I was sorry to see Gus and Hera leave.

All of you who think there's nobody left you like, pay more attention to Kris and Jon. Yes, they're good looking, but they're also nice people.

Ryan, you are so right about the water polo. Did those Hungarian "players" even move? They could have made it a little bit of a challenge. Is water polo a big thing in Hungary?

Did anyone notice how Victoria seems to be able to turn her misery on and off whenever she needs to?

Kris & Jon have grown on me also. They have so far remained pretty good-natured, and she is just adorable.

I agree about the water polo goalie -- did he stop a single shot? Or was it just edited that way?

Also agree about eating the soup. I could do it, but I am, shall we say, highly suggestible when it comes to the reverse. I think that's pretty common, as several of the other contestants discovered.

What on earth is Rebecca doing with a whining baby like Adam?

Mamarosa,

Don't worry about it. As a Westcoaster, I would never open up this thread if I didn't want to know how the episode ended.

I agree with Meredith that Kris and Jon are well worth rooting for. They don't seem to get as much "air time" as the dysfunctional teams but seem to be a genuinely nice and intelligent couple.

I find many of the reality shows insulting in what they assume in viewers' intelligence.
Do they think we sit at home smoking dope, laughing at people throwing up and pushing each other and yelling at locals?
Intelligent and stimulating entertainment is getting harder to find.
I've been to Budapest several times on errands (lived in Szolnok) and never appreciated it. I only saw the traffic jams and pollution and dusty old buildings as a local. It's nice to hear your comments that it's beautiful.
The parliament is world class however - inside and out. Now we just have to put some better politicians in there. ;)
Yes, water polo is fairly big there - Hungarian teams win world competitions and olympics now and then. I don't thing the guys took the job seriously. But what do you expect?

Maybe the water polo guys were stunned by the superior game tactics of Jonathan?

Clifton : I had the same thoughts as you watching last night's epi since I was in all those places too in late September : Margitspeit, Fisherman's bastion and the funicular railway and all those steps. All those places are quite close to each other. I was even thinking as I roamed around the area, how beautiful it was and that the Race should make a stop there someday - little did I know !

I'm going back to Budapest later this year as 2.5 days wasn't enough (it was at the tail end of 2.5 weeks in Europe) and I want to finish off seeing and doing the things that I missed before I lose interest.

Do any of you guys watch "The Early Show" the next day where they get to interview the pair that got eliminated? They always advertise that at the end of AR and I have never had the chance to watch the interview. Its probably interesting to hear their experience and perspectives.

My take on the gate is that it is operated manually and is never used quite the way it was on the show. You can enter the park to either side, and they may not have normally ever lowered it. But since they had a bunch a people waiting to race, it was more or less spontaneously used as a starting gat.

I think that the person raising the gate had to shift there grip (or whatever) and briefly lost control of it. It was just unfortunate that on this occasion people were trying to race under it instead of waiting for it to be raised clear.

Keith

The water polo event must have had some editing...Hungary won the gold medal for men's water polo in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. They beat Serbia-Montenegro in the final by a score of 8-7.

I TiVo'd last night episode and did a slow-mo on the specific gate scene. It doesn't appeared as if somebody pulled down the gate. It appeared the gate went back down on its own weight. I did observed all the front runners sprinting down the cobblestone road. The guy that was accusing was located in the farther back corner of the pack, there is no way he can say with any ceratinty that the gate came down because somebody must have pulled it down. What a jerk, if you ask me.

BTW, I could not even watched the spicy soup challenge. One of the most (if not the most) disgusting things ever on AR.

If you puke in your soup, you should get a replacement of the same amount. It is just too base and disgusting to eat your own vomit. What was he thinking?

I didn't even sit to watch this episode. After waiting two weeks for the "continued" episode, it opens with somebody (I guess Jonathan) screaming "That's why women don't rule the world." ??? I just can't deal with this anymore. I did keep it on while I finished laundry, but there is just nothing engaging. I agree with Lindi and Joelle and CMeyer.

Didn't this show previously win an Emmy? Haven't they heard, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The only thing getting me through this season is the beautiful scenery and the anticipation of the rejoicing the day that Jonathan finally gets eliminated.

And you just know it will all be Victoria's fault when they do! :)

Here's a Fodorite challenge--can anyone come up with the recipe for that spicy Hungarian soup (or at least a name)?

Mathieu, we'll get back there too, but not the next trip. We had 4 days and it wasn't nearly enough. Next time, a week, I think.

zeppo2, you know, we ate at Bagylovar, the sister restaurant to Gundel, which is where they were having the soup. Pretty much in the same building. We had the guylas, which was very good with a semi-sweet paprika, but I kind of think that soup they were eating is NOT on the menu!

Oh, something I missed - the blood thing. What was that about? He says something about Transylvania once being part of Hungary. uh, no one offered us any blood and we were just in Transylvania. I must have missed a memo.