Cowbells & Cloud Paths: Finding Connection in Stoos

The morning began with cowbells.

Not the dainty jingle of a souvenir keyring, but the deep, resonant chorus of cows moving down the mountainside, bells clanging against the stillness, grounding and alive.

Stoos sits high above Lake Lucerne, reached by the steepest funicular in the world. Riding it feels like surrender, trusting cables and steel to carry you up an impossible incline. And then suddenly, you’re there: on ridgelines that brush against the clouds, in air that smells of snow and wildflowers, surrounded by a silence that feels thick enough to hold you.

Walking the paths, I noticed something shift. The restlessness I’d been carrying untangled with each step. My breath deepened. My shoulders dropped. Connection arrived quietly, in three directions at once:

• The mountains gave me back a steadiness I didn’t realise I’d lost.

• The slower pace invited conversations that didn’t need to rush anywhere, just wander like the paths themselves.

• Cowbells echoing across valleys reminded me that we’re always part of a bigger rhythm, even when we forget.

The benefits weren’t flashy. No dramatic revelations. Just nervous system repair. A body remembering it doesn’t have to brace all the time. A mind that finally felt spacious again. Clarity here looked less like answers and more like permission, to rest, to stop performing strength, to belong without earning it.

That’s what Stoos gave me. A reminder that mountains don’t rush. They don’t apologise for their presence. They hold still through every storm, and in their company, I remembered I can too.

If you’ve been brittle, burnt out, or quietly carrying more than your fair share, let this be your reminder: steadiness isn’t about holding it all together harder. It’s about letting the ground (or the mountain) hold you.

Sometimes the path isn’t about moving forward. Sometimes it’s about standing still long enough to hear the cowbells echo.

You’re not broken. You’re human. And sometimes all it takes is a view above the clouds to remember

With warmth

Sarah x