Gesamtkunstwerk?

Hardly.

Jeeze I'm dumb. I just had a major realization. 

Everywhere we go, my aunt and I have been noticing that the newer buildings have these very "modern" steel, white or primary-colored plates with holes in them on all of the balconies (in fact I just noticed that there's a prime example right in the backyard...). I thought it was a little bit weird that the Germans would just toss around modernist architecture so casually (since it occurs most often in the lower-income housing (which is still pretty nice, compared to that of the States)). 

Well, I also recently remembered that the Bauhaus is in Germany, and that whole little movement they call "Modernism" was strongly felt here. So it's no wonder it's become so commonplace! It's worked right into their history, and has become normal much the same way the colonial style has become so banal in the US. 

Duh callie...