Calum,

I would highly advise against using converters to run either one of the appliances you listed. You can almost guarantee that it will get fried within a few months.

Why not play safe and buy local appliances?  There’s plenty of choice at reasonable prices at Migros, Coop, IKEA, Jumbo and many other outlets.  You’ll also save yourself a lot of hassle.

Ok then. I hadn't actually considered that as an option, or feasible outcome. 

Pardon my ignorance, but, what it is about running appliances with different voltages through a transformer/converter that will fry them?

Mainly that I have invested money in these two applicances which I quite like, and rather than spending more money, I would rather save that money, and use what I have, if that is a safe and viable option. 

If it isn't, then I shall certainly look at replacing them

You won’t be the first American to pack up domestic appliances for the duration of their stay in Europe nor the last.  You can always keep them until you return home or, alternatively, sell them to someone who’s leaving Europe to set up house in the US.

When it comes to electrics, far better to be safe than sorry. 

You can find them online and probably at Hornbach. We have a couple that we've been using for almost 20 years to power kitchen appliances and I have a large one that I power my table and chop saws with. If you get a good one, you should be OK for your mixers and so forth. Never tried to use a vacuum with one, so can't really say.