I Can't Stop Myself from Trying the Culture!

Chocolate chip? How american.I am not usually a cookie person. The thing about a cookie is that it's not satisfying unless you eat a lot of them. And as I'm already seeing the results of Czech food on my waistline, the last thing I need is to eat a lot of cookies.
Unfortunately, Czechs make good cookies. And pastries. And cakes. And just about every other dessert you can think of. My roommate is Czech, and when she visits her family, she brings back lots of delicious pastries and other desserts that, of course, I have to try. I'm experiencing the culture! I tell myself as I try a piece of strudel or a hazelnut cream puff.
But it's the cookies that definitely get me. There are just so many varieties, and they are all so cheap! In the States, if I want a cookie, I'm expected to fork over at least 2 dollars for a stale cookie on the street, four dollars for a package of Oreos (if they're on sale) or six bucks if I'm buying them at Whole Foods. But here, 11 crowns gets me an entire sleeve of Disco cookies, which are larger and lighter than Oreos but have the same design.
Another thing about the cookies here…they're all hazelnut. And to make one thing clear: I love hazelnut. Unfortunately, while traveling in Italy a few years ago, I discovered that I was deathly allergic to Nutella. There is nothing like traveling through Rome, one of the most beautiful places in the world, with itchy hives and a constricted throat, let me tell you. But my love of hazelnut extends much deeper. With some caution, I discovered that I'm not allergic to non-Nutella, and so the cookies here are perfect. While my friends slather Nutella onto every little scrap of food they can find, I can enjoy its nutty taste in wafer or cookie form. I can gorge myself on cookie after cookie, because I am on a semester-long vacation. And the ice-cream here sucks.
My new obsession is Zlates. Not only are they covered in chocolate and taste vaguely of hazelnut, they also have coconut. I can not even imagine a more perfect combination. I cannot even imagine a better way to end a meal. I cannot even imagine the amount of crunches I will need to do at the end of the semester or the explaining I'll need to do when I spend my life savings on cookies.
They say cuisine is one of the best ways to explore a city's culture. I think I have that part pretty much covered…in a thin layer of chocolate.