Editor's note: Here is an excerpt from the second in a series of dispatches by Dana Bauer about Penn Staters who traveled through Iceland and the United Kingdom studying the role of energy resources in economic history.
Ironbridge Gorge, England -- We wake up early at St. Briaevel's in Lydney, a 12th-century castle turned youth hostel with modern amenities, including Internet access. The students have radically different packing styles, some bringing small bags, others risking the allowed weight limit for economy-class airline passengers. The heavy packers find negotiating the narrow castle staircases challenging, if not treacherous. The 15-passenger vans, too, are not easily navigated through the narrow stone streets of tiny English villages.
Read the full dispatch from Research/Penn State at http://www.rps.psu.edu/cause03/two.html