What we see is invariably determined by the eye of the beholder. Travellers and readers interpret the cultural text of 'foreign parts' in relation to their own horizons and individual interests. The present study looks at examples of the discursive appropriation of travel destinations and foreign literature. The approach is geared to aiding inquiry into the degree to which the projection of individual and collective identity and background affects the perception, description and acceptance of Spanish culture. Detailed analyses of excerpts from travelogues and romances are undertaken against the backdrop of a broad-ranging documentation of the perception and reception of Spanish culture and civilization in German-speaking countries in the Enlightenment.