if you know about some from funniest impressions. he's from startups t.v. dot com. top stories this hour an hour to the death toll from devastating floods in the south of russia has topped one hundred seventy thousands of homes have been washed away and many people injured as the result region faces its worst natural disaster in that in memory. as america lashes out of russia and china for the continued violence in syria the un's envoy to the troubled country draws attention to other states that are fanning the flames of civil war with arms and cash. and suspense of the ecuadorian embassy in london as jewel in the sun does extradition deadline passes while his wiki leaks website starts to release these so-called syrian files . but that's it for me in the news team for the moment sean thomas he'll be here is the news continues in half an hour from now in the meantime we're going to explore

russia as we're traveling to the country's west a most kaliningrad region with our special report stay with us for that here on alt . the kaliningrad region is truly a unique part of russia the country's western most point it shares no borders with the rest of the mainland and is surrounded by the baltic sea poland and lithuania i mixed to the end of world war two the region used to be part of east prussia it was famed as a center of culture and coma it's the home of philosopher emanuel kant and the world's largest producer of royal amber. there have been many changes in the past few decades but the original german history and flavor is still very present the center of the capital kaliningrad is a mix of waterways parks and broad avenues that incorporates both modern and medieval architecture first impressions that this is a city that's doing very well for itself and i was eager to find out more.

so i know the kaliningrad is famous for its deposits and it's souvenirs but it turns out they might no want to see things about the album next it. starts well photo of. the lawyer like. the launch of love to begin everything. i was about to take a seat at one of russia's premier cocktail competitions with some of the finest boman in the country battling it out behind the balkans.

islam was seen a bloody surprise at syria zero alleged on the list from a sale that zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero to things like. what was there to meet mark the events compare an all round kaliningrad experts and a man who knows his mixology according to russian tradition we need to have a drink first to get to know each other better yes i agree. with the way seeing as kaliningrad is the capital of the amber kingdom amber is up a short of all things here in one way or another to be sure the family in this cocktail here is called living amber just in contest so you're lying about all living like you. would you like a taste and loves you very much i think i think i'm to do both sound good to me as i've been waiting a long time for a coke so here we are you a busboy the throw this.

what do you think dog and how it's all very nice very tasty my house my hotel in. actually i think if you drink and. there's more where that came from. the party still in full swing i arranged to meet mark for a proper introduction to the city starting with the memorial to its most famous son . any tour of the city without mentioning the manual count would be incomplete in fact not only does he symbolize the city of konigsberg but he also represents the philosophy of modern civilization. this memorial the so-called counts grave was refashioned in one thousand twenty four but i'm going to you put what you see those patterns up on the ceiling. and i face serve as a reminder of ancient egypt and the pharaohs some of them considering that the

pharaohs were thought to have contact with god the architect of this memorial wanted to say that counts philosophy had a divine nature. they would. and there in a divine place at the foot of kaliningrad magnificent thirteenth century cathedral if you will for the now here we are at the cathedrals walls you see the mediæval brickwork it even looks a bit shaky. echoes of the says he's german past combined with modern architecture throughout the city and no more so than down one particular lane the we're going to this is eight hundred twelve street and it's really quite unique within feel this is where two cities meet kaliningrad and konigsberg you've got these houses represent the original kaliningrad and they're the so-called crucial they were built in accordance with

a special design approved by nikita khrushchev but you know where he stole the idea from. great britain. and on this side of the street just konigsberg that part of the house dates from the nineteenth century and this is from the twentieth the two different style that one represents to do gothic while this one is about a house straight lined. will hear are these railings they were made on this very spot in kaliningrad blacksmiths have told me these things are protected and in turn they actually protect the whole district because otherwise the place would be demolished. but this is a fire station it looks just as it did when it was built in the nineteenth century surprisingly it is not being taken to pieces even the original door has been preserved for you know now back then horses used to stand here wooden floor inside

stopped the horses from getting cold or falling over when it got slippery in the winter even it withstood all the hoops but this is a combination of architectural beauty and functionality it is still used as a fire station in fact. as more cattle feed recommended i visit the city's docks and check out one of kaliningrad most interesting tourist destinations now i've been lucky enough to visit some great museums in russia but i have to say i think the kaliningrad has one of the finest in the whole country it's called the museum of the world ocean and it's a real treasure trove. every child above all lived below the waves this museum has it covered including an aquarium filled with brightly colored fish embryonic sharks and the old evolutionary marvel. at some real missing links here i can just imagine one of

these guys first calling out of the swamp millions of years ago when months has and they're in fifty years perfectly happy swimming around just popping out onto a tree branch for a breath of air. and when it comes to marine life there's the great alongside the small. kaliningrad used to be the base for russia's whaling fleet and this unfortunate fellow was one of its last victims they brought him back from the south atlantic in one nine hundred seventy five and he's one of the largest complete sperm whale skeletons in the world. because tastes. the jewel in the museum's crown has to be the research ship beaches over forty years it covered eight hundred thousand miles and visited one hundred different ports seeking out new species and information about the ocean depths it may have made its last voyage

back in one hundred seventy nine days how meridia was still more than capable of reaching out across the waves. the worst. right fit on this is radio two mike whiskey osca from the research. in kaliningrad anyone reading the. control was trying to get me in touch with the u.k. and it wasn't long before we picked up some english words over the airwaves found northern ireland. were discussing oil rigs. there is no way. as our control return to the dials i headed down to the bowels of the ship the v.t. is once measure the depth of the marianna trench so it's hardly surprising that it's underwater exhibition is its highlight this is

a tour of the seabed which details how scientists probe into the depths of the world's oceans here you can see special underwater video cameras and how the design of the diving suit has changed over the years but also the pressure to try these boots on for size. ok delve into the past. underwater exploration. for these babies. and keep you on can. complete the look. i think i like the model a little bit better. kissy face some of the exhibits tell the story of the titanic and how the film was made james cameron presided over the museum's opening ceremony

and gave us two valuable exhibits the ship's bell and a cup of film features both of them. are. hundred ninety six cameron journey to the wreck of board the kaldis another kaliningrad based ship but the v two years has a proud history of discovery in its own right i'm going to try and get him this because. apparently submersibles like these used to be launched from the ship. used to search for new underwater. twelve hundred different species were discovered during this time. it's difficult not to get a taste for adventure down here and i was keen to try out some underwater exploration for myself.

sadly a trip down to titanic wasn't in the budget but i did know where i could find a different break here in the kaliningrad region i just needed the right equipment so much ready. for the one or two dives in russia but this one. is for us to be a bit special we used to be an old quarry but since then they've used to train back . military divers and even a few james like me. is going to be one of the interesting feet up. and down on the bottom i wasn't disappointed business sunken plane complete with nazi insignia. and it makes a pretty intimidating obstacle course. i was even able to bring away

a souvenir as well. that is a great dive site beneath the clarity was a little bit of the water but i did notice for the jugular. over that. james cameron dropped. back on dry land it was time to take him some more of the local region and visit a poignant reminder of how modern kaliningrad was founded. the clinton grand region came into existence at the end of the second world war when it was an expired the soviet union and it was the scene of some fierce fighting from one thousand nine hundred forty forty five and here in the little village of risk it's one of the few places in russia where you can find a soviet memorial next to a german war cemetery. several hundred german soldiers have been

reburying here from all around the region with many taken from one of its faces confrontations with fight. number five was one of the keys of the battle of konigsberg it lasted from the sixth to the eighth of april nineteenth forty five and the buildings battered remains and just over the water here. the floor was one of twelve constructed around the city and it's still one of the best preserved despite suffering heavy punishment the soviets launched a massive artillery bombardment turning great sections of the fort into pieces of rubble like this but it was that they gave the cover for the south as to get close enough to the walls to prime their explosives and cause the breach which led to the final decisive assault. i got a taste of kaliningrad modern history but i wanted to find out more about its

origins back to the founding of konigsberg itself. well for the. science technology innovation and all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. remnants of kalinin grant's distant past can be found throughout the region

including cultural ruins just running for exploring. think about all these old forts is that they've got some fantastic hiding places so i'm going to nip in here . if there isn't anything in this place i reckon it's going to be here it's really chilly i wonder what they used to keep. the food. you know it unfortunate prisoner . it was cold dark and dank and as i looked around it was easy to imagine that at least down here nothing had changed for hundreds of years. my lords ladies and gentlemen welcome to the fourteenth century this is

cos all the mightiest fortress in the land and the home of the teutonic knights masters of east prussia. by the early thirties and hundreds that your tonic knights had conquered all of east prussia and conferred to the old prussian inhabitants to christianity they built councils around the area including the original konigsberg council i'm curious in burke. they were constantly defending their lands against attacks by the neighboring lithuanians and every good night needs a trusty steet. these are some of the descendants of the knights old horses below. hello. hello b.b.

very friendly there have been stables on this territory for more than six centuries and generations of military and racing horses have been bred here the most popular horses the track into an old prussian breed that's been crossed with our breads over the years to produce an animal highly valued for its strength and speed and there are a curious not to. boast that's just a slick used a phrase the kids come in. and they're so friendly even the babies will come placed. afraid. the full tear are only a couple of months old and will stay with their mothers until they're strong enough to graze on their own. you can tell they're a big an hearty group of horses here but quite frankly very little spoils because

everybody also gets their very own watch and tanning session. and one side taking a little instruction from nina it was time to give king live here a good scrub. glamorous life i lead it oh yes. you nice and clean. impress all the men as well you. know your head if you like it yes we like it very much. but it's not a task without obstacles this is the problem when you go up a four hundred kilogram. horse and it decides to stand on your hose makes bath time a little bit difficult. then it seems the washing rubdown is only the half of it and i don't know about you but i've never seen anything like this before in my life

. because what. the king here has been nicely cleaned he gets a session in the tanning booth but we want orange we're going to go. so he gets twenty minutes which should certainly make him ready for the beach i would think so we got the muscles just going to get the. i think in the miami. it may seem a little excessive but when you consider that the horses here can sell for up to sixty thousand euros a little pampering is a sound investment. of course they also need to be fit and strong so i headed out with me for the most important part of their day exercise time so i guess just sit back now and watch them go a couple of very worthy to their work. with my stable boy duties done i

was free to head back into kaliningrad for a time during the second world war the city was home to the legendary on the roof which disappeared without trace at the end of the fighting it's never been found but a local museum has made their own small tribute it contains pieces from all over the world supposedly gathered by a local naturalist. all of these items were brought from scandinavia because embers found there this one was found on the island of haiti incidentally it was in haiti that columbus saw amber for the first time in his life wonder idea of amber is blue in color because there's call bolton and what you've got when you are in fact it seems were over the naturalist went he found more and more treasures that you can also find amber in australia this moon ring is from there the amber arrows come from africa the cast and that's are from spain this is

a collection of sea shells it was put together by our naturalist while he was on his voyages so amber can also be found in the ocean a tall tale perhaps but it does thinking. well if he had been real on that show this would have had a pretty amazing life lesson that. sailing the seas searching for all those different types of. that would have been like when would you believe it's one thing about plenty of gravitas it's got more inland waterways than any other country in europe and i have joined the crew here on the fear for a little boy just for. kaliningrad lies on the mouth of the pregame river and has channels that pass through the heart of the city. because of the warm waters the yachting season here is the longest in the country lasting up to seven months continental xander says it's now a far more inclusive sport nowadays class yacht costs about as much as

a decent foreign made car was when the word yacht crops up for some reason or other romana with his fifty metre yacht and scantily clad girls spring to mind but it's a myth that only oligarchs can buy a yacht today's middle class can easily afford one but if you want to sail through the center of the city you need a little preparation to get some slack james a little more. we're just coming up to the old german bridge here where the cars drive along the bottom level and trains go along the top but because it's so low it's take down all the mobs so fingers crossed. yeah mostly middle of the godhead. kaliningrad is still a busy port and the hall has a full of tankers and scientific vessels every day you can see grabs most famous

ship coldish it's home to the mir submersibles and it's a ship with james cameron's accounts to use its explorations down to. tell. us for better conditions when i was more than happy to relax and enjoy the ride it's. a tough job so i'm going to do it. but you should never speak too soon because all fluff mosque needed to go right back up. means it was a sprint. this is. explored the center of the wide open waterways and.

fabled museum naturalist it was time for me to go hunting so finally pulled into the. one of the biggest and the deposits in the region. and after a short track a glimpse at a local sign told me i'd come to the right place the kaliningrad region is home to the largest deposits on the planet in fact it's so important around here the town after. the word in russian means and here in young ptolemy the precious resin is literally just below the surface so this is where it all comes from the largest open pit in the world they've been mining here industrially for over a century and a half and they still pulling out hundreds of tonnes every year. sounds like a good place to do a little prospecting doesn't. i headed down towards the

quarry and on to the sand banks it's amber washes up along the beach here all the time so i hoped i wouldn't have to do too much to get. little. is lurking in the song. but finding the role materials is just the start in time to me also has a thriving jewelry and souvenir business and everything is crafted by hand. dr a lot of hard work this is where all the pieces of on the finally end up so if you like you can take home something rather modest or if you do happen to be a passing always with ten thousand euros or so in your pocket. as one of the pieces that are a bit more. dream come true. i

found my own the momentos had a chance to experience hundreds of years of history that have shaped the kaliningrad region but before my time here came to an end i had a chance to reach the end of russia itself. this is quite a special moment for me my very first discovering russia style sit in at the public come chaps in the east and most city of russia and now i'm in full tese looking into the baltic sea in the west and lowest points of the whole country has been pretty incredible journey between.