Surprisingly, the history of the unique motor ship begins at the Gorky Polytechnic Institute with the diploma work of a student Rostislav Alekseev, who presented to the attestation commission a draft of a ship that the shipbuilding history did not yet know.The young man studied the behavior of the wing of the aircraft in dense streams, when it dawned on him: precisely those forces that do not allow water transport to pick up speed, in the end, and make it fast! Thus, the idea to create special lightly submerged wings, the design of which will allow them to use the lift force generated by the pressure difference. If such wings raise the vessel above the water, then it is possible to simultaneously reduce the resistance to movement and the influence of the waves. The principle of operation of such wings will go down in history as the “Alexeyev Effect”.

Unfortunately, right after the institute, Alekseev sent to build not ships, but tanks — just by that time the war began. However, the young engineer is not going to part with the dream of a high-speed vessel and devotes all his free time to its development. In the end, his zeal turns out to be rewarded: In 1957, the “Rocket” comes off the assembly line - the first ship produced using the technology of hydrofoils. His first flight "Rocket" with 30 passengers on board commits from Gorky to Kazan. The distance is 420 km. It was completed in 7 hours. The time by that measure is so fantastic that not everyone believed in it at once. It was a sensation of Alexeev and his engineers.

But progress does not stand still, and now in 1961, Meteor, a vessel intended for high-speed river traffic with a range of up to 600 meters, enters production. More spacious, able to overcome even greater distances, having a comfortable lounge with a cafe and bar, it is quickly gaining popularity. Combining speed, safety and comfort, “meteors” not only easily competed with ground transportation, but also became an integral part of the river leisure of the townspeople.

The “meteors” were also able to disperse around the world: today they can be found in many countries, from Vietnam to the Netherlands. Of course, with a special love for winged ships have always been in St. Petersburg, where they have become a landmark in their own right.

Petersburgers loved to travel to the "meteors" in the picturesque suburbs, which is not surprising, because it is not only the fastest way to get, but also the opportunity to touch the story, having seen live with the ships that have changed our understanding of speed.

Without ceasing to evolve, today high-speed motor ships can boast of unprecedented comfort. For example, all the “meteors” of Petergof Express are equipped with spacious lounges with comfortable seating and TVs, cafes, toilet rooms, business-class lounges with panoramic windows and an open deck where you can take fantastic photos. If we add to this the delightful views from the window and the fact that the whole trip to Peterhof takes only half an hour, then the question “what to go on?” Will not even arise. Of course, on the "meteor"!

The legendary fountains were conceived by Peter the Great as a triumphal monument in honor of Russia's victory in the Northern War and its’ long-awaited access to the Baltic Sea. Besides, the emperor had another goal - to compete with the French Versailles, whose glory had been bugging him for a long time. It must be admitted that Peterhof brilliantly coped with both tasks.

Future capital of fountains was the project of the best architects and experts of that time. During that time 173 fountains and 4 water cascades were founded in the parks. Incredibly, even today they all work without a single pump! The secret of water supplying is in the power of nature itself and the talent of engineers who have developed a unique system of canals operating on the principle of communicating vessels. As the result, water from the Ropshinsky Heights spontaneously flows into the Upper Garden pools.

A few people know that the original plan was to construct fountains in Strelna, where significant work had been done already but it was found soon that local landscape is not suitable for fountains continuous work. Meanwhile if water level would be elevated to sufficient level the whole neighborhood would have been floated. Fortunately, Perehof wasn’t very fare and hopefully it had absolutely perfect landscape to become the new Russian Versale.

The Grand Cascade , one of the most spectacular fountain structures in the world, which powerful jet beats up to 20 meters upwards. Its’ sculptural decoration fascinates with its elegance and is always popular with park visitors . According to the plan of Peter the Great, the key element of the fountain composition had to be the figure of Hercules triumphed over the Lernean hydra, which would become a symbol of the victory of the Russian Empire in the Northern War.

However, sooner the more suitable allegory was found - Samson, Tearing the Lion's Jaws. The point is that Poltava battle, which took place on St. Sampson the Stranophone’s Memorial day, has become very significant for Russian Empire. And the lion was on the enemies emblem. That’s how Samson from biblical legend moved straight to the center of the water structure.

Another brilliant place to visit is the hermitage pavilion which is very famous with its unique lifting table. Right heremeetings with high-ranking guests and important strategic issues were taking place. Therefore the presence of any strangers, even the servants during the dinner, was unacceptable. That’s how the idea of lifting table came up. Guests were located on the second floor, the servants fussed on the first. On the Emperor's call, the table went down, dishes and dishes were replaced on it and it went up to the guests again.

Finally, another attraction of Peterhof, which is not related to architectural masterpieces though,is sweet squirrels. Nimble red animals which are as courage as arrogance are full-fledged inhabitants of all parks of Peterhof, so it’s easy to feed them with hazelnuts and almonds, which you can buy right there or bring with you.