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With the financial crisis in full swing and a host of bilateral and international issues to discuss, Dmitry Medvedev and Angela Merkel already had plenty on their plate at talks on Thursday. But host city Munich, famed for mouth-watering specialities such as sausages, dumplings and meatloaf, was not about to let the leaders thrash out the issues of the day on an empty stomach. The leaders enjoyed a three-course meal of salmon pate, Bavarian chicken breast with porcine mushrooms on a bed of spinach and potatoes, topped off with pancakes, fruit berries and a cardamom sauce. Asked his view of the famous Bavarian cuisine, Medvedev was the model of diplomacy. It was "wonderful, tasty and... very filling," gushed the Russian president. "You only have to eat and drink beer once in Bavaria and then you can go without food for a while!" he added.
