Denmark was the first country to legalise pornography, and Danes pride themselves on openness and tolerance, with alternative communities such as Christiania in Copenhagen known worldwide for counterculture. But the country's reputation for open-mindedness was shaped partly by outsiders. From the 1960s onward, West Germany was an important audience for the image of Denmark as a more liberal society, and some of the people who helped create that image looked at Denmark from across the border. The reputation grew out of an exchange between Danish activism and foreign fascination.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.