Mom Wants a Castle

So, a few months back at a dinner with friends, Axel told a funny anecdote about his family. Apparently he is descended from landed nobility. His great-grandfather had one of the most modern and largest brick factories in Germany, and he bought Axel's grandfather a large castle/manor as a wedding present. There they lived until after World War II when the Russians came. Being in East Germany, Grandpa left the key in the door, grabbed the kids and ran into West Germany where Axel grew up.

I told my mother this story as part of another overall funny story, but boy did she fixate on "CASTLE." The other day, I call her up to ask her how to make sweet potato soup (which, btw, consist of sweet potato, ginger and brown sugar) and she started asking all about the castle. So the conversation went somewhat like this:

Mom: So I think Axel should take the castle back.
Me: I don't think he wants the castle back, mom. What would he do with it?
Mom: Well, he doesn't have to live in it, he can charge the tenants rent.
Me: I don't think so, Mom. It's currently the city's townhall and police station. You can't take away town hall.
Mom: He should be able to go and say, this castle was mine before the war and I'd like it back now. The Native Americans do it with land.
Me: Sounds like a hassle. And he would have to take care of the thing. And besides, castles aren't nice to live in, they're dark and drafty.
Mom: I still think he should get it back. Tell him he should try.

I mentioned it to Axel later, mostly because I thought he'd find it amusing. And indeed he did, and he also mentioned that he wouldn't have a right to it, seeing as the war was lost. I think the conversation had him get curious about the manor, so he dug up a photo, and researched his family history a little. It's pretty interesting stuff. I wish my family had history to keep track of. Maybe there is, but my parents are both pretty sparing with their stories.