Gallery: July 7 — Eisten

Eisten is a little hamlet just a few hundred meters away from Blatten, upslope and upstream.

The road to Eisten goes over this small falls as it leaves Blatten — very picturesque.

Upper Blatten, with the bridge over the falls in the foreground.

Some solemn inscriptions and decoration.

Eisten viewed from the approach. The shape of the little chapel and its relation to the village make Eisten unmistakable.

Scattered houses up higher.

The stream that comes down from the Petersgrat glacier past the high village of Tellistafel, which is out of view here.

One in an extensive series of pathside sculptures that were new to us.

A new house in Eisten, somewhat clashing with its context but not horribly, and clearly solidly built.

The chapel up close.

The chapel interior. Even the tiniest of Valais chapels often have these intricate altars.

A nice subtle stained-glass window.

The rose windowlet.

Lovely compound curved vaults.

The exterior of the chapel, understated and beautiful.

Some renovation — but if there was always a center support like that, the building may be very old. The masonry is difficult to date accurately.

A mini-chapel, a frequent sight in devout Catholic areas like the Lötschental.

The landscape, including the pebbly Lonza.

Nice joint detail.

I guess the stairlike structure at the top has some sort of hydrocontrol function.

View back down to Blatten and Eisten as we proceeded further upstream.

Well-cured wood.

Fuzzy and overexposed, but nonetheless an illustrative shot of the upstream landscape closer to the glacier.

This may be a memorial to avalanche victims.

A cairn surprise.