Tonight on the Amazing Race, the lovely mother-daughter duo of Wanda (or as Phil says, "Wander") and Desiree were eliminated. The team got increasingly testy with each other as they struggled with navigating themselves through Germany and although I really liked them, I'm almost glad they were Philiminated because I'd hate to see them turn on each other any more.

Tonight's leg started up where we left off last week: in Moscow's Red Square. As teams hit the mat, Phil gave them the news that this was the dreaded "TBC" leg and the Race was still on. Teams headed to the airport to search for flights to Germany. Ultimately, only Eric & Jeremy, Lake & Michelle and the Hippies were able to get a flight out that night, while the rest of the teams would have to wait until morning.

Once in Germany, teams headed to Stuttgart and Mercedes' famed test track. Teams had to take a spin (with a professional driver at the wheel) on the nicely named "Wall of Death". Call me evil, but don't you wish the Weaver family had had to do this last season?

After some minor bunching at the track, the three lead teams headed to a Roadblock I'll call "Lena's Revenge". Poor Lena was the Mormon sister from Season Six who was eliminated along with her sister after unrolling hay bales in a Swedish field for 8 hours. Now Lena works on the casting for The Amazing Race and I can't help but think she had a hand in this Roadblock. 11 Travelocity gnomes (bitch all you want about the product placement, but it helps pay the bills) were hidden in a field and teams had to uncover various gnome tops and bottoms to find them.

Eric and Jeremy flew through the detour, but Lake & Michelle had troubles finding the field until they picked up some drunk guy to help them. With a hand from Hans they were on their way. The Hippies joined them and then the two teams worked together to get to their next destination. Hilariously, they had to take an unplanned detour to drop Hans off at home. Moments like that are why I love the Race. You're in the middle of a race for a million dollars and you have to drop some drunk guy off at home first. I love it.

While all of this was going on, the rest of the teams were navigating their way from Stuttgart to the field, with the exception of Wanda and Desiree and the Danis, who were going in circles. Wanda & Desiree were lost and the Danis were too lazy to quit following them. I want to like the Danis, but then they do stupid things like hook up with Eric & Jeremy and follow other teams that clearly don't know what they're doing. Ugh.

The detour, in a Bavarian film studio, was the exact opposide of "ugh". Teams had to dress in Lederhosen and choose to either break fake bottles over each other's heads until they found the clue (but they had to wait for a cuckoo clock to chime before each bottle break) or learn a traditional German folk dance. No matter what option teams chose, hilarity ensued. This would have been Race perfection if somehow wacky animal hijinks could have been added to the mix.

In the end, Eric & Jeremy finished first and managed to gross out Phil with a mention of "tongue wrestling" with the Danis. Also pissing off Phil were the Hippies, who had to be alternative and race to the mat backwards. Give it a break, boys. The complete order of finish was:

1. Eric & Jeremy
2. Lake & Michelle
3. Hippies
4. Fran & Barry (I know)
5. David & Lori
6. Joseph & Monica
7. Ray & Yolanda
8. Danis
9. Wanda & Desiree

Next week: laundry!

Be sure the check out the Viking Pundit for more.