The afternoon. Some flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. Heights of lightning and rumbles of thunder. Heights 01 14 lightning and rumbles of thunder. Heights of 1a to 18 degrees. Through tonight, zones of wet weather pushing northwards. Some of the rain very heavy and thundery, particularly into the far south and southwest later in the night. A little bit chilly in the north east of scotland. Elsewhere, it will be mild, really wet to start across the south. These heavy bursts of rain will drive northwards through the day. Sunny spells behind, but some further heavy thundery showers popping up through the afternoon. A little bit breezy for some. Highs of 1a to 18 degrees. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines. The contest to be conservative leader and the uks next Prime Minister three names are in the frame, including recently ousted borisjohnson. In other news, at the china congress, president xis Predecessor Hijintao is mysteriously led out of the hall by officials. Giorgia meloni has been sworn in as the head of italys latest coalition government. Shes the nations first female Prime Minister and its first far right leader since the second world war. Summoned to give evidence under oath former us President Donald Trump is called by the Committee Investigating last years attack on the capitol building. Now on bbc news. The travel show� s Christa Larwood visits estonia to find out why some russian monuments are being removed from public view, while other reminders of the soviet era are being restored and repurposed. She finds out how the countrys launched a new visa system to encourage Remote Workers to set up shop in the capital talinn, and tries out Bog Swimining in the countrys vast and wild peatlands. This week on the show pulling down the past. I believe that the monuments would not give a tribute to the regime but they should preserve the history and the memory. Feeling the heat. Were getting major fires every year now, and multiple ones. Oh, my god . And up to our knees in an estonian bog. Theres a lot there. Theres a lot. For 300 years, on and off, estonia was part of russia. Ruled first by the czarist empire, then the soviet union. Links between the two are many and deep in fact, around a third of the people here have russian as theirfirst language. But since the invasion of ukraine in february, the government has steered a course very firmly away from its powerful neighbour. There have been travel bans for russian tourists, and something even more dramatic. Historic russian and soviet monuments are being removed from public view. And notjust here. The other baltic states, latvia and lithuania, are making similar symbolic gestures. Explosion. This was among the first a replica tank commemorating soviet soldiers killed during world war ii. Its been moved to estonias war museum from the town of narva, which sits right on the russian border. The government says its to avert what it calls increasing social tension. Oh, wow look at this. Very welcome the t 3a was produced from may � aos to � 60s, more than 80,000. So, its extremely ordinary tank, nothing special. Wow i mean, you say nothing special but, i mean, theres that is like a rock. Thats why it is tank. Laughs. Why do you think a museum is a better place for these sorts of objects . Thats why the museums are created for to keep the history. Its a question of symbols. And for our people, that is a symbol of occupation, thats a symbol of soviet troops and we wanted to turn a new page. As you can see, were not destroying it, we keep it. But the links are impossible to sever. So many of the Big Public Spaces around the capital are russian built. Theyre bold, architecturally distinctive and pretty popular, too. These days, the Peter The Great Seaplane Harbour is a maritime museum, painstakingly restored. The Foreboding Patarei Sea Fortress now hosts gigs and club nights. And noblessner port, imperial russias submarine factory, is fast becoming tallinn� s new leisure district. As well as cafes, bars and new luxury apartments on the way, there is this prot0. Its owners call it an invention factory. Its sort of an interactive museum. So, as we cycle, the little cyclists on the track go round, so its a race now. Yes its a competition, yes so, tell me more about this incredible building i assume it hasnt always hosted parlour games. Exactly. This building, it was the foundry. Wow. Of the shipyard. Next to it was the coopersmith, then there were some storages, local power plant, the Engine Generator Workshop and assembly workshop, so huge area where submarines were produced, yes. Among all of the family attractions, there are still glimpses of the buildings former life. This is a Control Panel to open the gate, which is here. 0h, here we go here, these are exactly, these giant gates. That is a giant gate. Yes. That was used to take the ships out of the foundry. 0h, right, so theyd bring them in and out here . Yep. Youd press the button and theyd rumble on out . So, how do you feel about the russian and soviet monuments being taken down . Well, i believe i believe that the monuments would not kind of like give a tribute to the regime but they should preserve the history and the memory. In this case, the best place for the monument is in a museum. We have this place. This is a wonderful way of people to learn the history and to remember the history. So its preserving the history, not celebrating the ideology. Absolutely right. These spaces are being lovingly restored. Money and hard work have been spent to make them attractive. Some havent had that treatment but have become popular nonetheless. This is rummu. It was one of a string of soviet run prisons that used to stretch across estonia. Its has quite a grim backstory. Thats all history now, right . From their arrival in 1940, the soviets used prisoners here to mine and process limestone from the quarry. When estonia regained its independence in 1991, the site was abandoned and reclaimed by rising groundwater. Today, its become popular with swimmers, divers and snorkellers. So, what can you tell me about this building and what it would have been when it was a Functioning Prison . Prisoners were working in all positions. They were working in this building, they working in the mine, where they were they were digging out the material. They were also working as the ones who were making the explosions to get the material off. So most probably, they are the reason why this quarry was floated. The limestone makes the water such a striking colour that some call it � the blue lagoon�. I think the most Precious Places here is the visibility. As you see today, we can see almost, like, five, six metres four, for sure and every time i go diving here, i see something new. Theres a complicated legacy of this place, given its history . I think the persons that were staying in this prison, for sure, they dont want to come back here. But for the rest of us, its mainly the place we can spend summertime or enjoy the water because its really warm and its really good visibility here and we can see everything inside. I really love being here in the water. Sigrid has genuine affection for rummu. She wants to preserve it and stop it falling into the hands of developers. This could be considered as having a very Strong Association with the soviet period. Do you think that these sorts of places should be preserved or taken down . That depends on the place and it depends on the monument maybe, because most of them have been taken down already. Maybe the ones that we can use for the future to have the place to go, to see some pieces some pieces of history, they should stay where they are. Estonia is at a crossroads. Many people are happy to see this country distanced from the russian regime but theres a shared history here one thats not going to be disappearing anytime soon. And if youre thinking of heading to estonia, here are some travel show tips to help with your planning. Tallinn is a classic Christmas Market sort of town and it looks lovely lit up in the Town Hall Square from late november. Pay attention to the tree. Estonians reckon their capital was home to europes first Christmas Tree in 14111. That claim is disputed by latvia but tallinn still makes a big deal of it nonetheless. A couple of highlights from the old town. Olde hansa at a super touristy but fun mediaeval themed restaurant, just around the corner from the gothic town hall. It claims its food is still made to 17th century recipes. Also nearby is niguliste museum, in the 12th century st nicholas church. The big show piece there is bernt notke� s danse macabre, which invites you to think about the futility of life. And Sauna Culture is everywhere in estonia. Theres a good chance theyre will be one wherever youre staying, but look out for smoke saunas, where youll sweat in the aroma of stripped alder and birch logs. Still to come on The Travel Show reflections on the summer of intense heat across the Northern Hemisphere. Are they sweet . 0h . And the sweet, sweet taste of estonias bogs. Theyre very sour so dont go away. This week, were exploring estonia and just while were in the capital of tallinn, i wanted to you this. This is a Remote Working pod. Its in the middle of a shopping centre, right in the cool part of town. Places like this have been popping up since the pandemic throughout tallinn. The authorities have been keen to encourage people to come and work in estonia for an extended length of time and as a result have introduced special 30 day Digital Nomad visas. And its notjust the visas in tallinn, theyve installed wi fi across the city, all key services are online and cool Co Working Spaces like this are popping up all over. These office huts overlook the baltic. Hiya how are you doing . Hi, miguel. Nice to meet you. Good to meet you ooh, isnt it toasty warm in here . You need to experience the estonian winter because its Something Different its dark and its cold but its also very cosy and warm. What is it about tallinn that makes this such a great place for Digital Nomads . The very cool Co Working Spaces are around, theres a very good tech scene, also a very good start up scene. It is very open and friendly. Everything invites you to, you know, relax, to focus on yourjob. And in case you were in any doubt about how they like to finish the working day here, this place has four offices and five saunas. Hi. My name is Miriam Nielsen and im working towards my phd at Colombia University studying hydroclimate extremes. I also make youtube videos about Climate Change and climate activism. This summer and, frankly, the last several years, the Northern Hemisphere especially has been seeing these intense dramatic heatwaves that are predominantly caused by increasing global temperature like Climate Change and were seeing that in places like the uk and california. You know, what youre seeing in yosemite, in the sierra is more fires and this year, boy, its you know, when i first moved up here about 25 years ago, wed get, you know, maybe one major fire every five or ten years. Were getting major fires every year now, and multiple ones. The problems are the melting snow on the glaciers. We have a lot more Crevasse Incidents because the snow. Coverage on the glaciers is totally thinned out. And then, many places, i the glaciers are receding. We had to basically stop guiding certain trips on certain glaciers because it just became too dangerous l for a while because the snow bridges on the glaciers was too thin. This has increased the number of accidents with crevasses. I what basically happened is the jetstream, which is this Meandering Current of air, got stuck in one place. And so all this hot air from Northern Africa ended up piling up and that led to really high temperatures, which impacts everyone from sitting at home to snowpack on mountaintops. I am not a climate expert, but obviously there is Climate Change in place and if it continues like this i think we just need to maybe adapt our scheduling, programming, and all these ice fields are literally gone. There is absolutely somethings you can do. We dont know the cause of the washburn fire but it was human, there was no lightning that day. So somebody dropped a cigarette, somebody did something. Sojust be aware. If you are from areas where it is maybe not as dry, even parking your car off pavement, on dry grass, that has sparked fires up here, that peoplel have lost homes over. Campfires are banned at Mostl Elevations during the summer, but still, dont even try it. We have had fires thati had started, and again, people have lost homes by illegal campfires. So i think it isjust, be aware of the environment around you during the summer in california, even in a non drought year. It is dry, we dont have rain for months, it is ready to spark at the slightest human error. |so be aware of all your actionsj when you are visiting the park. So the thing that i try to cling to is that with all these disasters from heat waves to flooding is that none of them are really new. Humans have experienced all these events for a very, very long time, and we have built structures and communities to cope with them. And we can keep doing that, and we can respond to how obviously travelling can be a huge source of emissions. Spending time outside is one of the least emitting things you can do, and if you go looking for it, you can find these beautiful natural spaces basically anywhere. I have left the Capital Tallinn now, and i am making for estonias countryside. This looks almost like savannah, it just goes on forever. And for a landscape whose reputation has done something of an about face in recent years. Around 7 of estonia is made up of this bog land. And it is fair to say in the past, not everyone was a huge fan. In fact, people would regard a landscape like this with horror, because folklore said that this is exactly the kind of place where you might be waylaid by evil spirits. Times have changed though, and it is now becoming apparent just how useful these bogs are. The worlds peatlands store twice as much carbon as forest, according to the un, and that makes them enormously valuable in the fight against Climate Change. Its odd to see a digger at work in a forest and to know that its doing good. Marcus hello, i am christa, good to meet you. As a result, estonia is making efforts to restore and re bog some of the land that was drained decades ago. What is this it looks like mud, but is this peat . Yeah, that is peat, actually, if you look, it is almost decayed but not totally. Ah, you can still see the fibres. Here it was maybe the depth of the peat layer is two metres, so approximately the lowest layers are 2,000 years old. We are trying to restore the forest habitats, because in 1960s, back then, this type of landscape was considered a total wasteland. Why is it important to restore these peatlands . It is important for Carbon Emissions. We want to stop Carbon Emissions here, we want that this peatland would store carbon, not emitting it. But people here are also finding out what a stunning playground this environment is. Glad to meet you. Good to meet you, i have my gumboots ready ready to hit the bogs . Lets go. Aivar is a guide who lives here in Soomaa National park. He floats through the bogs in his canoe, skates and sledges on them in the winter, and stomps through them with these. Any tips . It is not that difficult. You just walk and one important thing when you want to turn back, you always come with a u turn. You dont step like this because. But the u turn works well. These are one way bog shoes. Yes, only forward. 0k bog shoes are a bit like snowshoes, and our crew soon discovers the importance of wearing them. There is a lot, yeah . Theres a lot. Jordan has just emptied about a litre of water out of his boot. And that is why you wear bog shoes. So what is all this made up of . Because it feels like were walking on a big sponge. It is mostly made of the moss. More specifically, sphagnum moss. So this is the plant here. 0k and if you take some of it, so you can. It is really like a sponge, isnt it. It is rotting down there, becoming peat. The top bit is growing, it is green, like. Yes, it is living. And it is full of water. So it doesnt look like water but if you squeeze it. Oh, wow, look at that. It may look like a barren landscape but there is plenty here to forage. It looks like someone has billed some berries on the ground. Do you want to taste . I do, i have had Cranberry Juice before but i have never had cranberry. Are they sweet . 0h. Laughs. 0h, they are very sour not that sour. And there is just one final chilly treat that aivar is keen to show me. Are you sure about this, is this a good idea . Not really. Oh, oh god i can already feel how cold it is. Actually quite cold laughs. This water makes you feel like your skin is softer, makes youa little bit younger. It would want to, because it is really cold. Screams. It is so cold oh, it is really really cold. I can see how after working up a sweat, bog shoeing, this would be a nice shock to the system. So how far does this go down . A few metres. There is no bottom there. I think the verdict for the bog swimming is absolutely freezing cold when you dont come in the summer. Wow, but i mean, what a setting. I definitely needed to warm up after that. But thats all we have for this weeks programme. Dont forget you can catch up on our recent adventures by going to bbc iplayer, and there is plenty of other Great Travel Content from around the bbc, just follow the handles on screen now. Until next time, stay warm, bye bye. Hello. It may be a little tricky to keep track of the weather this weekend. A lot of Different Things going on, things quite changeable, sunny skies one minute, the next some outbreaks of heavy and perhaps thundery rain. But throughout it is going to feel mild, even warm in any sunshine. Low pressure remains the dominant force in our weather. This low has been with us for quite a few days now, weakening, but still bringing some rain in the north of the uk. This next low, Waiting In The Wings down to the southwest. That will strengthen the winds later in the weekend. But the orange colours right across the chart showing that we will keep some very mild air in place. So through the rest of today, still quite a lot of cloud and some outbreaks of rain drifting northwards across Northern Ireland and scotland, Brightening Up across the eastern counties of Northern Ireland and southern parts of scotland, even into the central belt it should turn a little brighter through the afternoon. For england and wales some sunny spells but Cloud Rolling in from the southwest. That will bring some heavy and perhaps thundery downpours for South West England and parts of wales later in the day. Temperatures north to south, 1a to 18, maybe 19 degrees. Overnight this zone of cloudy and damp weather continues to make progress northwards across scotland. We see further heavy downpours drifting northwards across many parts, some heavy and persistent rain into the south west later. But in between, there will be some clear zones of weather. And with these clear skies in northeast scotland, itll turn a little bit chilly. There could be some fog patches to start tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, though, a really wet start in the south. That rain will drive its way northwards through the day. Sunnier skies returning behind, but with some heavy and perhaps thundery showers popping up. And the winds a little bit Stronger Tomorrow for some, particularly around some of these western and southern coasts. But those winds coming from the south, its a warm wind direction. Temperatures, again, typically in that range between 1a and 18, maybe 19 degrees. Now through the week ahead, low pressure never far away, this low with us on monday driving further heavy showers. A very weak ridge of High Pressure may bring something a little drier on tuesday, but there are more Weather Systems waiting out to the west. So there will be more rain at times through the week ahead. Some of that will be heavy, but equally some spells of sunshine and feeling quite warm for the time of year. Highs of 20 degrees. This is bbc news. These are the latest headlines in the uk and Around The World the contest to be conservative leader and the uks next Prime Minister three names are in the frame, including recently ousted borisjohnson. Supporters of former chancellor rishi sunak say hes gained the backing of enough mps to make it to the next stage. He both the economic credentials, but also bringing people together and the ability to restore confidence of the public. Borisjohnson is back from a holiday in the caribbean after telling an ally hes ready to enter the race the leader of the commons, penny mordaunt, is the only person to have formally announced their candidacy. In other news, at the china congress, president xis predecessor, hi jintao, is mysteriously led out of the hall by officials