Day 9 and Day 10 of our ambitious 8-country motorhome tour across Europe. It has been a whirlwind of high-altitude mountain passes, breathtaking glacier views, charming Swiss villages, and the funny realities of life on the road with our two dogs, Tilly and Frankie.
🇨🇭 Morning in Kandersteg: Souvenirs & Swiss Misunderstandings
We kicked off Day 9 in the beautiful alpine village of Kandersteg. Before tackling the mountain roads, we did a spot of morning shopping in town. While it wasn't high-end luxury shopping, I finally treated myself to something I’ve wanted for years: a proper, genuine Swiss Army Knife, bought right in the heart of the Swiss Alps
After shopping, we took the girls for a good stroll. Life on the road with pets always brings a few comedy moments: Suzanne put a bag of dog poo down on the ground while picking up dog waste, and a local came over to give us a bit of a telling-off, thinking she was littering! Misunderstandings aside, it was a lovely morning before hitting the open road.
🚗 Conquering the Susten Pass (2,224m Above Sea Level)
Setting our satnav from Kandersteg to Andermatt, we deliberately set the route to avoid motorways. Doing so kept us off big highway loops and put us right on one of Switzerland’s most iconic alpine routes: the spectacular Susten Pass (Sustenpass).
Rising to an incredible 2,224 meters above sea level, the climb features endless twisty, winding roads and dramatic hairpin turns. Driving it was the absolute highlight of the day. We managed to pull over at several scenic viewpoints along the pass to capture some unbelievable pictures on both our camera and phones.
🏔️ Highlight Moment — The Alpine Glaciers:
Looking out across the pass at the alpine glaciers hanging between the peaks was an awe-inspiring moment. Photos hardly do it justice, but we’ve uploaded our high-res photographs of the glaciers directly to our website gallery, make sure to check them out.
🐾 Stopover in Andermatt & Riverside Walks
Driving tight mountain passes takes serious concentration, and by the time we rolled into Andermatt, I was mentally exhausted from navigating all those twisty turns.
Andermatt is a unique mountain spot with a strong military history. As we walked around, we spotted heavy restricted doors leading straight into the mountainside with warning signs! While Andermatt is best suited for a longer stay focused on summer hiking or winter skiing, it gave us a great chance to stretch our legs. Best of all, the dogs enjoyed a well-deserved swim in the clear mountain river, leaving them happily exhausted for the evening.
⚡ Campervan Life Realities: Heat, Storms & Tank Maintenance
Travelling in 31°C summer heat in the mountains brings incredible weather, but also classic van life maintenance challenges! After enjoying the views (and watching sheet lightning roll through during night-time thunderstorms), our top priority for Day 10 is finding a campsite with full hookup.
We need to charge up our leisure batteries, transfer camera photos off our SD cards to the laptop, and most importantly, drain our grey waste tank! In 31-degree heat, even a tiny bit of trapped waste water starts humming, sending an unpleasant blast coming back up through the sink plug holes. Ah, the glamorous side of motorhome travel!
🇦🇹 What’s Next: Austria, Innsbruck & A Liechtenstein Detour
Having experienced the authentic Switzerland, complete with chalet houses, Swiss cows, local cheeses, and dramatic mountain passes, so we are now crossing into Austria.
Our next main destination is Innsbruck. We’re heading for a campsite called Kranbittenhof (Cramm-bitterhof), where we plan to stay for two nights. This will give us time to recharge, explore Innsbruck properly, and prepare for our next leg into the Bavarian Alps toward Berchtesgaden in Germany.
On our drive over to Austria, we are also hoping our route lets us sneak in a quick detour through Liechtenstein, adding yet another country to our grand European tour!
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