Der Feuervogel aufersteht.

Have you ever heard native German? I had the same impression as you when I was a kid, from the German I heard in movies and from bad American speakers, but when actual Germans speak it's very soft. The "ch" sound, for instance, isn't really guttural like it is in Dutch or Hebrew or something, it's a pretty soft sound, in some dialects even approaching "sh."

I'm pretty sure that German isn't what's harsh and ugly -- that's just how it sounds when Americans bungle it.

Also, American English sounds really ridiculous to people who don't know it, I think. A lot of errrrs.