The Twizy and I – road trip to Güssing

When it comes to driving, it’s always associated with a pinch of drama. After my mini-Florida road trip with a Fiat 500 (the anti-American car par excellence ;), so to speak), I have gained some confidence in the motorized vehicles, but I still don’t really like them. But if you get the opportunity to test a 100% electric vehicle, then even I can hardly say no. In addition, the Twizy is more like a scooter with a roof than a real car.

Our plan was to take the Twizy on a short trip from Stegersbach to Güssing Castle. Finally, we would also like to visit a castle if we are already on the road in Burgenland. The Twizy can travel just under 60 kilometres when fully charged. The distance from Stegersbach to Güssing is around 20 kilometres – so far so good. The Twizy offers two seats in a row. There are no windows. The friend takes a seat in the back and I try to get an overview of the individual buttons in the cockpit area. The system is actually quite simple – one button to drive forward and one button to reverse. Let’s get started.

At a speed of up to 80 km/h, it quickly gets a bit chilly due to the lack of windows. In particular, the friend in the back seat gets a good dose of airstream. Surprisingly, however, I enjoy the driving experience. After about 20 minutes we are already at our destination. In search of a parking space, we curve across Güssing and notice that these “search trips” in particular have a considerable influence on the range. Before the remaining distance becomes critical, we park the Twizy and tackle the way up to the castle on foot.

Güssing Castle is one of the oldest castle complexes in Burgenland and sits enthroned high above the town on a long-extinct volcanic cone. The castle museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. Unfortunately, we reached the castle just after 5:00 pm. However, since there is a restaurant within the castle complex, the courtyard is still accessible after 17:00. The view from the castle complex is great even when the sky is overcast. How far would you be able to see on a clear day?

Afterwards we make a short detour to the ponds in front of Güssing. When there is no wind, the castle is wonderfully reflected in the water. The onset of dusk and the persistent high fog offer us a great photo backdrop.

Back at the parking lot, we get ready for the return trip. But oh horror! The handbrake just won’t come off. After some pushing and pulling, let’s take a look at the instruction manual. “Okay, all right,” you have to press the brake pedal down while the handbrake is released. However, the ray of hope does not last long – the handbrake remains stubborn. At some point we don’t know what to do anymore and call the hotel that we are stuck in Güssing. Embarrassing, embarrassing. As I said, the sum of a car and me usually results in a little drama.

But it gets even better. After the phone call, we try again and suddenly – oh wonder – the handbrake can be released without any problems. So I called the hotel again and told them that we were just too stupid to release the handbrake and now everything works perfectly again. Here’s how. A tip for all future Twizy riders: you have to press incredibly hard (i.e. really with all your might) on the brake pedal, then you can release the handbrake right away.

All in all, however, a successful and eventful trip.

(p.s. I’;)ll skip the part where the Twizy rolled backwards down the slope because I forgot to press the forward button)

Note: Many thanks to Falkensteiner for the invitation to Burgenland. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm here.