Wimbledon, a suburb of London comes alive in June-July with all the gala of the Tennis Championship. You have to be there to see it! Come June 2007, I realised the meaning of 'Queuing at Wimbledon'. I dont know if you have heard about it but I had no idea of the adventure I was going to embark upon in the chilly nights of June.
Our group in Office decided on Friday the 29th that we will go to Wimbledon. We were not satisfied with the Outside Court matches. It had to be Center Court or Court 1. No less than that! But the only problem was we had no tickets and we had to stand in the queue in Wimbledon to get tickets. Since next day was a Saturday, it was impossible to get tickets in the morning. We had to reach Wimbledon on Friday night and stay for the entire night to get the tickets. All of us were excited when we left office at 5:30. Went home, freshened up, had some food and we were all set to go. I was ready with a pair of jeans, a top and my summer jacket. How cold would it be in June!
We reached Wimbledon at around 8:30 pm and started on our journey to join the queue. Let me tell you the name of the daredevils before I move on: Namratha, Mahesh, Saritha, Prakash, Jason and Of course Me! Jason just accompanied us and but was not ready enjoy the moonlight at Wimbledon. He missed the adventures and went home at 12 AM. But where was I?? Oh ya on the streets those lead to Wimbledon Pa
rk. I was shocked to see so many people on the pavement all set to see the Wimbledon match. It was truly an outing for them! Tents, Barbeque, Fire, Beer Cans! They were all here to enjoy themselves. But we the daredevils had nothing but the courage and will in our heart to strive on. No tents and no fire! Just the warmth of the hope of seeing Nadal and Sharapova!
We reached the end of queue and we were given our queue cards and a place in the lawn to wait until morning. Unfortunately Prakash had to leave us with the promise of return later in the night (Yes he was off to work!). The ground was completely wet and the sky was did not look happy either. We laid out some newspapers on the ground to protect ourselves from the bite of cold. There were tents on either side of us but we chose to ignore them. We were too excited to notice such inconsequent details. As the night grew, the cold started the war against us. We tried to fight but we were too weak. It was time to call for help!! Who saved us? Yes the mighty Prakash and Akash. We told Prakash to get some blankets for us as we had started biting our teeth in cold. Prakash arrived accompanied by Akash with two big blankets and a rain coat to protect us from rain. The blankets provided some solace. We tried to sleep but our dear friend, the sky decided to play with us. It started drizzling at 3 in the night when we had managed to sleep for half an hour. There was no shelter to go to and we were already doused in the cold night. Things were not looking very bright but we decided to strive on. The sky took some pity and it thankfully stopped raining! I was sick with cold and could not sleep a wink. My summer jacket was only capable of protecting me from wrath of summer. I had to borrow another jacket from Akash. At 6 AM, the coffe van opened and believe it or not I had 3 cups of coffee one after another. At 6:30, the whole world was waking up and we were getting back in the line to go. Our neighbour even exclaimed that 'It’s a surprise you guys are still alive'! After the long night, we now started walking in the long queue to get our tickets.
things again.
Unfortunately we could not get Centre Court tickets but we were able to manage Court 1 tickets. Jason later joined us as well. But the skies were unhappy again and it started pouring. We were trying to console ourselves that rains will stop before the matches begin, but no the rain did not stop that day. Our wait was still not over. Finally the first match which was to start in the morning, started at 2 PM. But the match was all worth the efforts.
We saw the tall Maria Sharapova walking up to the ground. It was Ladies Singles' third round with Sugiyama. I grabbed the chance of sitting in the first row and watching the match. But our match watching ended with this game as it rained in London like it had never rained before. I had to pack up and leave but not without tasting the Cream and Strawberries. It was truly a memorable experience and I would still do it if I ever to do I truly learned the meaning of 'I queued at Wimbledon' (I even have a sticker as souvenir).
I do not know how many of you know that the back and the front portion of Captain's house are actually two different houses. We went to the back portion first. The lake was frozen and people were enjoying skating on the thin sheet of ice. We could see the gate and garden where Von Trapp proposed to Maria and the children fell into the lake. The building looked white covered under the shade of the big beautiful trees. We could also see the hills far away where Maria sang. Next it was time to see the front of the house and the path where Maria sang I have confidence. 
As we passed through the path, the big yellow house with a grand gate loomed into picture. 
After the house, we went to see the Gazebo where Liesl sang 'I am sixteen'. Its not at the original place but Salzburg people have preserved the Gazebo as the fond remembrance. 
From here, we carried on our journey to see the church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp got married. The church is situated in a small town called Mondsee which is an hours drive from Salzburg. The entire journey from Salzburg to Mondsee was filled with picturesque towns with 
beautiful Lakes. We could also see the Abbey from a distance. The lakes were frozen and everything looked white in snow. Mondsee is on the banks of Lake Mondsee. We saw the big church though it is not so very grand now. After the tiring journey, what better way to refresh ourselves than a steaming cup of coffee and cheese strudels. We left Mondsee at dusk 
seeing 
the last drops of sun hiding away. Our last stop was the unforgettable Mirabelle Gardens of Do-Re-Mi fame. However, it looked much less beautiful as it was shivering and everything was frozen. Nevertheless, our Sound of Music Journey ended here. It was truly memorable and I could hear Maria's voice as I walked on the Mozart's bridge in cold under the warmth of the moon light.
