About Us

We are Cristina and Mike — the duo behind the travel blog Fresh on the Map.

We always loved to travel, but leaving our familiar lives in Washington, DC wasn’t on our horizon until Cristina’s new job gave us the opportunity to move to Europe in 2019.

It was a year-long contract in Belgrade, Serbia, so we had a fairly straightforward plan: get married 2 months before the job starts, spend our weekends in different European cities, and then have our honeymoon at the end of the year.

That was back in carefree 2019, but as we now well know, the reality of 2020 was a bit different: our international travel was limited, and we ended up getting a much deeper understanding of Serbia and the region than we imagined. 

After two years in Serbia, we decided to give up our Belgrade apartment in late 2022, change the trajectory of our careers, bid farewell to a large chunk of our things, and embark on a digital nomad journey alongside our pup.

For two years, we stayed in over 50 different Airbnbs across almost 20 different countries and 3 continents. We drove from Belgrade to Scotland, explored many of the often-overlooked spots across Europe, and worked to establish a routine that allowed us to work during the week and explore a new location every weekend.

Now, we’ve relocated to Toulouse, France and are eagerly exploring a region we knew little about.

The last five years of travel have been vastly different. We’ve realized that getting set up in a new place and sorting through recommendations (whether you’re there for 2 days or 2 weeks) is hard stuff. Deciding where to stay, what to do, and where to eat can be quite tricky, especially when you’re time and budget are limited — and especially if you’re traveling with your dog. However, uncovering those unexpected gems certainly adds a touch of magic to the journey.