Spa Wafers

A lazenska oplatka is two discs the size of a dinner plate, baked in engraved irons that press the town's name and a pattern into the surface, then sealed together with a sugar filling flavoured with hazelnut, almond, vanilla or chocolate. The habit came out of the spa cure rather than the bakery: the mineral springs are salty, warm and metallic, and a dry sweet wafer takes the taste off the tongue between prescribed glasses. They are sold warm and pliable straight from the iron at small booths along the colonnades, and boxed cold for carrying home. Marianske Lazne and Frantiskovy Lazne bake their own versions with their own stamps.

What you actually see

• The engraved iron - the hot press that prints the town's name into each wafer.
• A warm wafer - soft and fragrant for about a minute after it leaves the iron.
• The filled hot version - two wafers with melted filling, served as a sandwich at some booths.
• The spring pairing - a wafer taken between glasses of mineral water on the colonnade.

When to go

Year round. Booths on the colonnades are busiest through the afternoon, and in winter a warm wafer is worth more than in July. Buy where you can watch them baked rather than from a shelf, and eat it on the spot; the whole point is the first minute out of the iron.

Honest expectations

Cold boxed wafers are dry and unremarkable, and they are exactly what most people carry home as gifts. The warm ones go soft or leathery within minutes. Colonnade prices are set for visitors, and under the sugar half the flavours taste much the same. They are very sweet and one is usually enough for two people.

Nearby

The colonnades and hot springs of Karlovy Vary itself.