I'm getting the strange feeling that I'm highjacking this thread. But since you asked - no I don't think that German sounds hard - and before I learned English, I thought it sounded like someone was trying to speak with a hot potato in their mouth.

But now, English and French sound softer. But I'm talking about "z" and one form of "ch" -there are two forms of pronounciation for that last one, depending on the vowel in front of these two letters.
Lachen weich ZooThere should be a voice example on these pages.