A procession of seasons sets the rhythm for life in Helsinki. The architectural writer Roger Connah has commented that the way the seasons change in Helsinki makes the city quite different from others that are more picturesque, artificially profound.
Light works hard.
This city does not cast its allure by being pushy with its beauty in the conventional way. Instead, the visitor must be prepared to put an effort into looking. It takes nothing more than the first warm spring day or two to fill the streets with people. They cannot wait to get into the sunshine of which they have been deprived for all of the long winter. The mood in the air, the fragrance of spring, is palpable.