Photograph: Alamy
I love winter in Bergen. I think it’s because I love Christmas – I can’t wait for it to come around. I love it all: the fog, the rain and the dark nights. My house is in a town called Os, which is outside the city, and in winter they don’t clear the snow, so we ski along the roads. It’s great fun.
Bergen’s got a really great creative energy, in the same way that Brighton has. It’s by the ocean and surrounded by mountains and trees. It doesn’t feel like a city. It’s beautiful in autumn. Walking through the gardens of Den Nationale Scene (the National Theatre), on my way to the studio last month, there was a tiny ray of sunlight shining on the grass and I just sat down near it. The ground was covered with leaves and it felt really magical.
A lot of my songs are inspired by the people who live in Bergen. There are so many creative types. And we’re all very patriotic. If you’re from Bergen, and you meet someone from Bergen anywhere in the world, it’s like you’re already friends. If I’m performing and there’s one fan from Bergen, they’ll be screaming, “Bergen, we love you!”
It is a cold city but there’s always lots going on, so it’s always bubbling. It’s small, so you can explore it all in one day. I love the docks area, with the colourful fishing boats, and the area around Skostredet, which is pedestrianised, with lots of vintage boutiques and cool cafes. My favourite café is Elefanten (Engen 12). It’s really small with paintings of elephants on the walls and outside seating. I also love Nygårdsgaten and its independent shops such as Twisted, which sells beautiful, unusual clothing.
In Bergen, we love burgers, pizza and sushi. I go to a place called Ichiban. It’s small and has no room to sit inside, so you have to take your food away.
In Norway, we love to go out really late and often gigs will start after midnight. One of my favourite venues is the Lille Ole Bull. My first show was there. It was sold out and my band and I were all terrified, but the audience gave us so much love.
I’m also inspired by nature. You just need to look out of the window here to see the mountains and the ocean, and everything’s so huge. And I love the wildlife. We have deer, foxes and red squirrels. We have a lot of frogs, too, because it rains quite a bit. That’s because Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains: the clouds get trapped. You can do a walk across all seven that takes three days.
I tell visitors to go and see the Hanseatic houses in the docks area. Inside, there are old drawings showing how life used to be. They’re some of the oldest houses in Norway and I love walking down the narrow passageways that divide them.
There’s a wonderful hotel in Os called the Solstrand. The name means “sun beach”. It’s right next to the sea and has amazing views. It’s old and it’s filled with gorgeous antique furniture.
When I’m touring, I miss the silence, because everywhere seems very noisy compared with Bergen. And I really miss drinking milk. We love it – huge glasses of the stuff – but they don’t seem to love it as much anywhere else.
When I finished making my record, I went out with my band to a bar called Muskedunder to celebrate. It’s quite a dark, cosy bar but it’s never too packed. But at 19, I’m a year too young to be in there. My favourite “bar” is backstage at any venue, with a beer in my hand.
• Aurora’s debut EP, Running with the Wolves, is out on Decca (aurora-music.com). She plays London’s Union Chapel on 2 February 2016
