Some advantages of the algebraic approach to many body physics, based on resolvent algebras, are illustrated by the simple example of non-interacting bosons which are confined in compact regions with soft boundaries. It is shown that the dynamics of these systems converges to the spatially homogeneous dynamics for increasing regions and particle numbers and a variety of boundary forces. The corresponding correlation functions of thermal equilibrium states also converge in this limit. Depending on the filling of the regions with particles, the limits can either be spatially homogeneous, including the Bose-Einstein condensates, or they become inhomogeneous with varying, but finite local particle densities. In case of this spontaneous breakdown of the spatial symmetry, the presence of condensates can be established by exhibiting temporal correlations over large temporal distances (memory effects).