_3rd._ Our preparations for departure this morning seemed to indicate a very laborious route, for the carriage was provided with six horses, two postilions, and two drags. We started at seven, and after a drive of half an hour arrived at the foot of the Löbel Alp, or, to speak more correctly, at the foot of a lesser mountain, which lies before the Alps, to the summit of which we ascended by an excellent road, in many places cut through the limestone rock. From the top, already at a considerable elevation, we looked down upon the road before us, which appeared like beautiful terraces built one above the other, and which lay so perpendicularly under our feet, that it seemed almost impossible to reach the lowest without imminent danger. The drags, however, were put on, and we all arrived safely upon the last terrace, which is formed of a noble and lofty stone arch, thrown across a very deep ravine. We then proceeded through a beautiful valley formed of magnificent rocks, crowned with woods of different descriptions, above which appeared the white fields of snow. We at last reached the base of the Löbel itself, and began the ascent of it, which occupied nearly four hours. The road, which is everywhere excellent, and is kept in very good order, winds upwards in a continual zig-zag till it reaches the summit, where an opening is hewn through the solid rock, from whence a most extensive and magnificent view presents itself to the eye of the traveller just arrived from below; one seems to look out upon a vast plain, but this plain is formed of the summits of lesser mountains, all beautifully wooded, whilst nearer on each side is a long chain of rocky Alps, whose crests are covered with snow, and the road in front is seen winding through a deep valley till it is lost in the woods. Upon these Alps the varied progress of vegetation is distinctly marked; first appears the beech now just burst into leaf, reaching to a height of about 4000 feet; then follow the dark pine and fir, whose sombre tints contrast finely with the beautiful green of the lower woods; and again above these the lowly heath appears, bordering upon bare and rugged rocks, or upon fields of eternal snow.